Chuck Norris’ day in the pop-cultural sun may be over (when’s the last time you heard a Chuck Norris joke?), but there’s still no denying that the man can anchor a martial arts police procedural. (Also, David Carradine is dead, Steven Seagal is doing reality TV, Dolph Lundgren is doing whatever this is, and no one can understand a word Jean-Claude Van Damme says.)
So it’s rather puzzling that Norris’ name appears nowhere in a Deadline story announcing a new, as-yet-untitled Fox series described as a “martial arts buddy procedural.” The show is being produced by the duo behind another recent Fox cop show, Gang Related, which was canceled after one season because everyone thought it was too generic. This time, Fox is hoping to spice things up by adding some kung fu into the mix, specifically by pairing up “a former Marine turned Shaolin master” with his brother, “a showboating, all-swagger Chicago cop,” in an “unlikely law enforcement partnership.” Add an uplifting Christian message and/or a cowboy hat, and that right there is a Chuck Norris hat trick.