‘Early Edition’: CBS Orders Pilot for Gender-Swapped Reboot
The fantasy comedy-drama Early Edition, which originally aired on CBS from September 28, 1996, to May 27, 2000, is set to make a comeback as the eye network has ordered a pilot for a reboot.
According to Variety, the rebooted version will be gender-swapped, with a female lead in the role Kyle Chandler served in the original. The story follows an ambitious but uncompromising journalist who starts receiving tomorrow’s newspaper today and finds herself in the complicated business of changing the news instead of reporting it.
Chandler played the lead role of Gary Hobson in the original series, which saw Hobson receiving the Chicago Sun-Times a day before it was published and using this knowledge to prevent various events. The series was created by Ian Abrams, Patrick Q. Page, and Vik Rubenfeld and also starred Shanésia Davis-Williams and Fisher Stevens.
The reboot comes from Melissa Glenn (Hawaii Five-0), who serves as writer and executive producer on the pilot. DeVon Franklin and Jenna Nicholson of Franklin Entertainment will also exec produce alongside Bob Brush, who served as exec producer on the original. Sony Pictures Television and AFFIRM Television will produce with CBS Studios.
Glenn is currently working as an exec producer on the upcoming Amazon spy drama Citadel, which is in post-production. Her previous credits include several CBS shows, including the drama Zoo, the sci-fi police procedural Beauty and the Beast, and the reboot of Hawaii Five-0.
Early Edition is now the third CBS drama pilot in development for the 2021-22 season. Previously announced were Cal Fire, starring SEAL Team‘s Max Thieriot, and a mother-and-son legal drama from Scott Prendergast and Dr. Phil McGraw.
It also marks yet another reboot in developing this pilot season. It was previously revealed that CBS is considering a series adaptation of True Lies, while ABC is working on a revival of LA Law and NBC is developing a follow-up to Quantum Leap.
Early Edition Reboot, TBA, CBS
