USA Network has gradually moved away from welcoming characters (including ostensibly funny ones) to acquiring darker fare such as Mr. Robot and Colony. But one concept that’s been missing from that grittier lineup is a crime drama, especially one featuring the two separate, yet equally important groups of wisecracking cops and the assistant district attorneys who tolerate them. The network is presumably looking to remedy that situation with a straight-to-series order for Eyewitness, a new thriller from Shades Of Blue creator Adi Hasak.
Eyewitness is an adaptation of a 2014 Norwegian TV thriller, Øyevitne, whose creator, Jarl Emsell Larsen, will executive produce the U.S. version along with Hasak, who will also serve as showrunner. The 10-episode series will center on two teenage boys who, while engaged in a romantic rendezvous in the woods, are the only witnesses to a shooting. Although initially reticent to share their knowledge with law enforcement, the teens find keeping their relationship and the identity of the shooter secret rather difficult, presumably because witnessing a possible murder “changes everything, forever.” With Eyewitness, Hasak picks up his second straight-to-series order for his second TV series ever, so if he’s able to find a way to add “blue” to the title, he could be well on his way to a Dick Wolf-like TV empire.
[h/t The Hollywood Reporter]