Justified fans celebrated the news when FX announced Timothy Olyphant's Raylan Givens would be making his long-gestating return for a new mission of sorts with the limited continuation series Justified: City Primeval. The new project is currently in production, but filming was temporarily shut down after a potentially dangerous situation involving a vehicular gunfight.
On the night of Wednesday, July 20, it's reported that the occupants of two vehicles were engaged in a gunfight, with both cars smashing through the barricades surrounding the show’s set, which is located near Douglass Park in Chicago. According to Deadline, cast and crew members took cover and dove to the ground as the incident was happening, and it was noted that Timothy Olyphant was there at the time.
Shell casings were found on the set later, but luckily no one suffered any injuries. It wasn’t clear what happened to the drivers/shooters within the vehicles, and the report made no mention of the capacity in which authorities were involved.
Justified: City Primeval shut things down on on the set throughout Thursday, and it’s reported that production is planning to resume on Monday, July 25. It would appear that nothing too devastating happened to the set itself as a result of the crash, though it is obviously possible. One can expect that there may be slightly more security around that part of the set.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first gun-related incident to happen near the set of an in-production TV series. On the morning of Tuesday, July 19, a gunman shot Johnny Pizzaro, a 31-year-old Queens resident and crew member for Law & Order: Organized Crime, while he was sitting in his car ahead of the day’s filming. Pizzaro was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Hopefully this won't become more of a trend as time goes on.
The Emmy-nominated Timothy Olyphant took on the role of U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens for six highly acclaimed seasons on Justified, often at the opposing end of the spectrum from the always fabulous Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder. Unfortunately, while it's possible the character could make some kind of a cameo from jail (barring a sudden release from the big house), Goggins is not part of the City Primeval cast list, so it doesn't look like Boyd will be gracing our television speakers with his flowery Alabama oratory skills.
Justifed: City Primeval will move the story away from Kentucky, taking place seven years after the flagship series' conclusion. Raylan will now be living in Miami, Florida with his daughter Willa, who will be portrayed by Olyphant's real-life daughter Vivian, when he's drawn to a case up in Detroit that won't be a simple one.
Without a confirmed release window just yet, Justified: City Primeval will debut on FX at some point in either late 2022 or early 2023, and will also be available to stream with a Hulu subscription. Head to our TV premiere schedule to see what other new and returning shows are on the way.
