Movies have been making their way to television in unexpected ways in recent years. Some networks have been stretching premises that were developed for two hours or so of big screen entertainment for the sake of ongoing primetime series. Fox's attempt at bringing a successful series based on Minority Report failed when the show flopped, but the network will be debuting a Lethal Weapon adaptation this fall. Fox will try yet another adaptation with a small screen version of 2001's Behind Enemy Lines. A pilot for a Behind Enemy Lines series had been in the works previously, but development had seemingly stalled. Now, the network is giving it another go with a new writer.
A Fox adaptation of Behind Enemy Lines was first announced nine months ago as a project coming from Jeffrey Nachmanoff of Hostages and Chicago Fire fame. The plot was set to center on an American flight crew on a secret mission that goes awry when the plane is shot down over the jungles of Latin America. The story would follow the crew in their desperate efforts to survive an unforgiving environment, their commanding officer on an aircraft carrier in his attempts to rescue them, and a female C.I.A. agent back in Washington D.C. who discovers a deep conspiracy connecting all the subplots together. There would be action involving everything from the military and terrorism to narcotics trafficking in a narrative about heroism, redemption, and manhood.
The original effort's plot, involving the stranded flight crew, commanding officer, and female C.I.A. agent remains intact for the second go at Behind Enemy Lines, according to Deadline. The new writer will be Nikki Toscano, who will also executive produce. Toscano has contributed teleplays for shows such as Revenge and Bates Motel, and she's worked as executive producer on the TV movie Red Zone and Fox's 24: Legacy TV series. She clearly knows what she's doing when it comes to crafting successful shows, and she could be the perfect person to finally bring Behind Enemy Lines to Fox.
Fox signed on for a put pilot for Behind Enemy Lines when the project was first announced in 2015, which almost guaranteed that a first episode would be filmed. When nothing came of the series, it began to feel like Fox would just be swallowing the financial penalties for backing out of the put pilot and scrapping the project. The reveal that Fox is once more moving forward on a TV version of Behind Enemy Lines makes sense in that context. We'll see if it ends up moving forward.
The Behind Enemy Lines series is only in development at this point, so we're a long ways off from any casting or filming news. Only time will tell if Fox's second try at the series will prove more fruitful than the first. Check out our fall TV premiere schedule to see what you definitely will be able to catch on the small screen in the not-too-distant future.
