Fox has given a script commitment plus penalty to Puller, an hourlong drama based on David Baldacci’s bestselling John Puller book series, from former Bones executive producer Carla Kettner, Drop Dead Diva creator Josh Berman, Oscar winner Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour) and Sony Pictures TV, where Berman is under an overall deal.
Written by Kettner, Puller is described as an action-forward procedural thriller about John Puller, an investigator with the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division. Puller, a decorated former Army Ranger, faces the most difficult case of his life when his brother, a convicted traitor, escapes from a maximum security prison. Together with Veronica Knox, an army intel specialist, Puller searches for his fugitive brother. In the book series, John and Veronica solve the most difficult of crimes while John secretly battles to restore his family honor.
Kettner executive produces with Baldacci, along with Berman and his Osprey Productions’ Chris King and Karen Spiegel, Oldman and his longtime manager/producing partner David Urbanski via their Flying Studio banner. As with all third-party productions, Fox co-produces with Sony Pictures TV.
Berman, who spent six years on CSI, rising to executive producer, has been at Sony TV for more than a decade. There, he created/co-created three series, Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime, The Mob Doctor on Fox and Notorious on ABC. He also worked on the studios’ The Blacklist and Daytime Divas.
This marks the latest collaboration between Berman and Kettner. She previously served as executive producer alongside him on his Fox drama Mob Doctor. And last year, the two teamed on crime drama Suspects, based on the British series Unforgotten, which was in development at ABC. Kettner’s recent series credits include CBS’ Zoo and NBC/Sony TV’s The Blacklist.
Baldacci published his first novel, Absolute Power, in 1996, which was adapted into a film tarring and directed by Clint Eastwood. Baldacci has published 36 novels for adults in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with over 130 million worldwide sales.
The John Puller series consists of four books, Zero Day (2011), The Forgotten (2012), The Escape (2014) and No Man’s Land (2016). Of Baldacci’s other book series, King & Maxwell was turned into a crime drama starring Jon Tenney and Rebecca Romijn.
Osprey Productions, which also has drama Strangers, based in Dean Koonz’s book, in the works at Fox, is repped by CAA and attorneys Ken Richman and Jason Hendler. Kettner is repped by WME. Flying Studio is repped by APA and attorney Nigel Pearson. Baldacci and Spiegel are repped at APA.
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