While not the most prolific TV creator, Damon Lindelof develops the kinds of television projects that start big conversations, whether they're about smoke monsters, mass exoduses, or racism-fueled vigilantism. Now he's getting set to bring another mysterious and unique story to the small screen along with former Big Bang Theory and current Young Sheldon writer Tara Hernandez. But as fun as it would be to imagine Sheldon Cooper as Dr. Manhattan, that's definitely not what this is. (Although by all means, Jim Parsons should be involved.)
Thankfully, fans don't have to worry too much about what will happen with this new project, as Damon Lindelof and Tara Hernandez's new drama Mrs. Davis received a straight-to-series order from NBCU's streaming service Peacock, which came out on top after what was reportedly a very competitive situation. The series, which will be produced by Warner Bros. Television, is keeping its main plotline mostly under wraps, though there's a brief synopsis for everyone to chew on.
[Mrs. Davis] is an exploration of faith versus technology — an epic battle of biblical and binary proportions.
That sounds right up Damon Lindelof's alley, considering how much religion, technology and binary pairings played into Lost and The Leftovers, and it's not like Watchmen was lacking in those departments either. He will be co-writing and executive producing the new series with Tara Hernandez, who will also serve as an EP as well as the showrunner. Both of the creatives are under overall deals with Warner Bros. TV.
Lindelof certainly sounds excited about the new project, offering this statement with the initial announcement:
Tara Hernandez is an astonishingly original talent. Talking about Mrs. Davis with her was one of the few things that kept me sane through the pandemic…I can’t wait for the world to be introduced to both of them.
As much as fans have hoped for Damon Lindelof (or someone else) to come up with the perfect idea to justify a second season of Watchmen, it hasn't happened yet. And it's very likely that Mrs. Davis will keep him and Tara Hernandez busy for at least a year or two, and even more if the Peacock original makes as big a dent with viewers and critics as Lost and The Leftovers did. And if it manages to draw the kinds of audiences that The Big Bang Theory did, then we'll probably be watching Mrs. Davis for the next decade and then some.
I cannot wait to see who lands the title role of Mrs. Davis, assuming it's referring to an actual person and not just a metaphysical...something-or-other. It might be too close to Leftovers territory for Carrie Coon to reteam with Damon Lindelof, but that would be stellar. Or Watchmen's award-winning star Regina King, of course. Or maybe, since Lindelof worked with Jean Smart on the superhero series, while Hernandez worked with Annie Potts on Young Sheldon, we can have a Designing Women reunion happening on this show with one of them taking the title role, with the other co-starring, and Delta Burke making cameos. I choose to think this can happen.
While waiting to hear more from Mrs. Davis and Peacock, be sure to keep up with all the big shows that are debuting soon during the 2021 Summer TV season.
