Although certain cast members maintain that Terra Nova is not the sort of expensive, underwhelming misfire that will come to be used as a commonly recognized reference for expensive, underwhelming misfires, but rather just the Hubble Telescope of television, some of its stars seem to be becoming even blurrier objects in the distance. And most discouraging to those former eternal optimists, those others include the show’s lead, Jason O’Mara, who has already accepted a job on CBS’ forthcoming Ralph Lamb drama, even as Netflix considers possibly picking up Terra Nova and applying the necessary bending and grinding to make its vision work.
In the meantime, O’Mara will play the younger brother to Dennis Quaid’s former rodeo cowboy turned Las Vegas sheriff, giving Quaid diplomatic advice as he engages in a tense stand-off with Michael Chiklis’ mob enforcer. However, Deadline notes that the as-yet-untitled drama from Goodfellas writer Nicholas Pileggi and director James Mangold is nevertheless “in second position” to the possible continuation of Terra Nova, because O’Mara will surely pass on the chance to work with all of the above people (plus Carrie-Anne Moss) in order to remain with a cheaper, diminished version of his unpopular dinosaur show. Indeed, why would he not?