Nathan Fillion was on the small screen for eight years as the writer-turned-investigator Richard Castle on Castle. Now, Jerry O'Connell is poised to bring a character back to the small screen that has a few notable similarities to Fillion's Castle character. O'Connell has signed on to star in the new AXN project Carter, which will bring him back to the small screen for what sounds like a very fun show.
Jerry O'Connell will star as Harley Mackay on Carter. Mackay is a detective on a popular American TV show who has a very public and very humiliating meltdown in Hollywood and must return to his small hometown. At home, he draws upon his years as a TV detective to join forces with veteran cop (and longtime friend) Sam St. Clair. Not too many details are available, but I assume plenty of hijinks and shenanigans will ensue. Sydney Tamiia Poitier play Sam St. Clair.
All things considered, Harley Mackay sounds like the product of an unholy union between Nathan Fillion's character on Castle, Nathan Fillion's character on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Rob Lowe's character on the short-lived Grinder. Carter won't be the first time that Jerry O'Connell plays an investigator, but it will be the first time he plays an actor who is playing a detective, and it could be pretty hilarious. Who knows? Given that Carter will air on AXN, maybe we could get a crossover with Absentia, which stars Stana Katic of Castle fame. I would watch that.
Carter was ordered straight to series for ten full episodes on AXN. MADtv writer Garry Campbell penned the series after it was developed by John Tinker of Chicago Hope. Scott Smith of The Magicians is slated to direct the pilot. Filming has not yet begun, but THR reports that principal photography is scheduled to kick off in this month in Ontario.
This new series will be Jerry O'Connell's first series-regular role since the sitcom We Are Men back in 2013, which was cancelled by CBS after only two episodes aired. Hopefully Carter will fare better on AXN than We Are Men did on CBS. All things considered, the odds are good that Carter will be a success by AXN standards. Few networks demand as high of ratings as CBS, and O'Connell is a reasonably big name to be attached to a series.
Obviously we can't say if there are further similarities between Carter and Castle. At this point, I'm only hoping that Carter will be able to balance drama with humor as well as the Nathan Fillion show did. After all, it's no coincidence that Castle ran for eight seasons. We'll have to wait and see.
Drop by our 2017 Netflix premiere schedule and our summer TV premiere guide to see your viewing options now as we wait for more news on Carter.
