In time, there just might be similar thematic TV series set up at every network/streamer.
Currently, there’s “Shots Fired” coming to Fox early next year; and most recently, ABC put into development its own drama series set in the aftermath of a police shooting of an unarmed man, titled “Protect & Serve.”
We can also add Netflix’s “Seven Seconds” to the mix, which hails from Veena Sud (best known for developing the the crime-drama “The Killing”), and will tell a story that will unfold as tensions run high between African American citizens and white cops in Jersey City, after an African American teenage boy is critically injured by a police officer.
Casting for the series has begun, with Russell Hornsby, British actor Zackary Momoh and Raul Castillo announced yesterday, who will play Isaiah Butler (a man who is shaken to his core by the incident), Seth Butler (Isaiah’s brother who comes home from a tour in Afghanistan just in time to support the family), and Felix Osorio (a cop working on the Narcotics squad in Jersey City), respectively.
Netflix is eyeing a 10-episode order which Veena Sud will showrun, as well as executive produce along with Lawrence Bender, Kevin Brown, Alex Reznik and Gavin O’Connor (who will also direct).
Fox 21 will produce “Seven Seconds.”
Netflix continues to aggressively add to its original content library, which appears to be working, given its most recent earnings report, which saw a continued healthy rise in new subscriptions to its service. The $5 billion they have to spend on original content certainly helps. Although one wonders how long it can continue…