Alex Kurtzman Brings ‘Salvation’ To CBS
JJ Abrams alumnus Alex Kurtzman is set to bring Salvation to CBS as a summer series for the network… Salvation being something they arguably need, after they cancelled 2 of their freshmen summer shows this year…
Picked up as a 13 episode ‘event series’, Salvation is an hour-long drama which focuses on MIT graduate and a tech genius who stumble upon the fact that an asteroid is only 6 months away from colliding with the Earth.
The show is being written by Necessary Roughness creators Liz Kruger and Craig Shapiro, and is based on a story from Matt Wheeler (Hawaii Five-0). It’ll be produced by Kurtzman’s Secret Hideout and CBS Television Studios.
“We’re excited to launch another high concept, highly promotable show with great auspices that adds to our roster of year-round, original scripted programming,” commented Glenn Geller, CBS Entertainment President.
CBS cancelled both Braindead and American Gothic this season, whilst leaving the the entertaining by ridiculous Zoo, as one of the only shows to survive the summer culling.
Many of CBS’s Summer Season runs under a model that have international and streaming deals in place to lower the license fee. Most have gone to Amazon, who struck a 3 year deal which meant they are guaranteed the streaming rights to at least one CBS summer show from the crop each year. However, Zoo operated outside that deal, with it’s streaming rights going to Netflix in a number of territories, and Sky 1 in the UK. It seems they are looking to do the same with Salvation, and it is said not to have been offered up as the Amazon show for the 2017 season.
Kurtzman has been involved with a wealth of high profile shows over the years including Alias, Fringe, Sleepy Hollow, Limitless and also Hawaii Five-0. He’s also involved in the development of Star Trek: Discovery for CBS. With a track record like that, you can see why the network might be keen to try and sell the show on to the highest bidder, rather than just hand it over to Amazon.
Worldwide distribution will be handled by CBS Studios International, so we’ll have to see where Salvation ends up in the UK.
