As reported by Deadline, European production company Gaumont TV has picked up Crosshair, a new procedural thriller from Numb3rs executive producer Ken Sanzel. Crosshair is about “a former CIA assassin” who then becomes a “freelance sniper with a CIA blessing to go anywhere and shoot for almost anyone.” Assuming this show is a true story (it’s not), does that mean the CIA is in the habit of training people to be professional killers, and then allowing them to go kill whoever they want? That’s not how this sort of thing is supposed to work. But it’s okay, because this professional murderer develops a conscience when he finds out that he has a 16-year-old daughter he’s never met. It sounds a bit like a throwback to the old Incredible Hulk-style shows from the ‘70s where a cool guy with special skills travels the world and solves problems while also feeling kinda sad about stuff.
Crosshair is not to be confused with Endgame, a similar-sounding sniper show that NBC is developing with the people behind The Blacklist. Apparently, snipers who used to kill people for the government and now kill people for some other, “better” reason are super hot right now. Maybe the next season of Modern Family will introduce a long-lost cousin who used to be a CIA hitman and is now searching for the assassin who killed his wife. (Spoiler alert: It was Eric Stonestreet!)