Whedonesque Mobile : Comments on 10111 : David Greenwalt becomes showrunner for NBC drama 'Kidnapped'.

April 19 2006

David Greenwalt becomes showrunner for NBC drama 'Kidnapped'. The Angel co-creator's new show will air this fall.

He is highly talented, so this is great news. David was a tour de force in the Buffyverse.

Simon | 12:16 CET | 24 comments total | tags: david greenwalt, kidnapped, nbc

Hmm, this sounds like it might be interesting, with arcy goodness and all that. I did absolutely love Miracles to bits, but missed Jake 2.0. Anyway, now that David's showrunner, I'll be sure to catch this.

GVH | April 19, 12:26 CET

I don't think someone can actually be a tour de force. You do/make one.

Storyteller | April 19, 12:35 CET

He was a body double for Jeff Bridges, this makes him a tour de force. I clearly haven't had enough coffee.

Simon | April 19, 12:40 CET

That's because there's never enough coffee ;).

Sounds cool, sort of a 24 type of arc feel (but presumably without the real-time element). I hope they take a leaf from 24's book and incorporate mini-arcs throughout since one story over 13 or 22 episodes can wear a bit thin.

Saje | April 19, 13:41 CET

But this will also mean that he will be leaving 'Surface', which is too bad :(

Highvanhoe | April 19, 13:56 CET

What happened with his Showtime show 'The Bastard' is what I want to know. I got a chance to speak with him at the Serenity Premiere back in Sept., of course mostly I was babbling about Profit and he said that the Showtime program was going to have the same feel, but a little darker. I want to see that.

RavenU | April 19, 15:23 CET

Jake 2.0 was good; I'll be tuning into this when it appears.

And could someone please explain to me why Variety feels it necessary to refer to a TV series as a "skein"? What's the deal with that?

I know, I know, it's the same rag that called River "Rain," so asking might not get an explanation, but I just feel compelled. It's sorta silly.

UnpluggedCrazy | April 19, 16:35 CET

Presumably because they used it once accidentally and then, instead of admitting the mistake, decided they'd try and push it into common usage. Someone should tell them it's not working... ;)

Grounded | April 19, 17:13 CET

I also highly reccommend Greenwalt's "Profit" for those who like their shows dark and twisted. One of my fave shows. It lasted a tragically short 8 episodes. Also I'm guessing the fictional corporation in the show "Gracen and Gracen" had to have been the inspiration for "Wolfram & Hart".

Dalton | April 19, 17:27 CET

PROFIT ROCKS! I ended up purchasing the series from Amazon for like 15 bucks and its amazing how much they go through in each episode. So much story, so much backstabbing and mystery. This should have been on for years!!! We need a campaign to revive this. If you haven't seen this you REALLY should.

ChosenOne5376 | April 19, 17:57 CET

They've been using "skein" for a long time now. It's just one of those Variety words. I like Variety-speak myself, but this is one I don't get. A skein is a loosely tangled ball of yarn. Which, I guess, if you strain your imagination, could be seen as a metaphor for a series. But the word doesn't work for me either.

batmarlowe | April 19, 18:38 CET

Isn't Surface cancelled anyway?

Good news for David. Hope this series lasts for him. It's about time he had a real success story.

I have to agree with Saje's earlier point. There can NEVER be enough coffee. Isn't that a law or something?

Serial Rocker | April 19, 19:26 CET

There's a thread over on dot org for Profit. It's under "Other Shows".

Willowy | April 19, 19:35 CET

A skein is a bundle of yarn. Yarn is another word for story.

Unless I'm wrong. It happens.

Allyson | April 19, 19:38 CET

Sounds intriguing. Mostly because I love David Greenwalt's work, and would be willing to try anything he's the showrunner for.

I'm not a huge fan of Variety-speak myself, but I agree that "skein" is a particular stretch. And not one that exactly rolls off the tongue when referring to a TV series....

[ edited by acp on 2006-04-19 18:46 ]

acp | April 19, 20:44 CET

Count me in as someone who loved, Loved, LOVED Profit and hope the new show is even half as good. I'll definitely check out DG's new show if we'll see Adrian Pasdar in some form!

Saturn Girl | April 19, 20:52 CET

Variety's own slanguage dictionary may be of use.

zeitgeist | April 19, 20:59 CET

I'm with RavenU on wanting to see "Bastard" on Showtime more than "Kidnapped." But kudos to David for nabbing this gig. I love him. "Profit" was a marvel. And he was a huge, huge contributor to the excellence that was BtVS and AtS.

Variety's slanguage generally annoys me because of its affected imperturbality, but I have to say that "skein" makes sense to me. Allyson nailed it, in my opinion.

phlebotinin | April 19, 21:20 CET

Zeitgeist, I was going to point that out as well... it came up second in the google search.

faith21 | April 19, 21:47 CET

Just wanted to join the Profit love chorus. I was so very disappointed when it was canceled, a feeling I've now gotten used to, unfortunately. EZ Streets, Wonderfalls, Homefront, Firefly,...
Anyway, Profit was amazing, so far ahead of its time. Can you imagine it on Showtime or HBO now? Ah, if only.
I'll definitely check out anything that has Greenwalt's involvement.

Syren | April 19, 21:49 CET

I agree with Syren that it was too far ahead of it's time. A lot of the viewing masses were not ready for such a antihero in 1996. But 24 episodes of Profit on HBO (& the Spike movie) is my idea of Heaven!

Greenwalt is a really talented guy, but I'm increasingly having the feeling that the magic combo of quality genre entertainment and adequate ratings are almost an impossibility.

paxomen | April 19, 23:01 CET

This is outstanding news! I'm so happy for David and the viewing audience for that matter. Like Joss, David Greenwalt is an incredible story teller and his return to television makes my heart sing. Could it be that we're finding our way out of the dark ages of reality television? Be still my restless heart!

Madhatter | April 19, 23:36 CET

I must third RavenU and phlebotinin's curiosty as to the status of The Bastard. If anyone has information on that I'd love to know. I've not seen anything new for quite some time, and I've looked.

But, David Greenwalt back with a show, in any way, shape, or form, is a cause for rejoicing!

Znachki | April 20, 00:02 CET

Great news for David Greenwalt but I'll miss Surface a lot. Is it for sure that Surface has been cancelled?

angelusiredspike | April 20, 04:34 CET

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