Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly made his first major purchase as chief, winning a heated bidding war for 'The Oaks,' a high-concept show about three families living in one house over different periods of time. Kevin Schuler wrote the script, inspired by moving into a new house himself and wondering about families who had lived there previously. The story concerns a young couple coping with the loss of a child in 1967, a family in 1987, and a couple expecting a baby in 2007. Interconnecting the families is a single ghost that has haunted the house for decades.
Schulner told the Hollywood Reporter, "Each personal story, each small relationship story is tied to a larger ghost story, I can't tell the story of one family without telling the story of another family that lived there."
‘The Shield’ creator Shawn Ryan will run the show; Ryan worked with Reilly previously at FX as well. Michael Cuesta will direct the pilot, having recently directed the pilot episode of Showtime’s hit ‘Dexter.’
The concept sounds remarkably similar to the ‘If These Walls Could Talk’ series on HBO, though the idea fits well with another time-centric Fox show, ‘24.’ Reilly hopes to begin shooting episodes at the beginning of next year.
