Netflix is polishing up the patrol car as it secures the screen rights to classic 80s cop show ‘T.J. Hooker’, with plans for a potential action-comedy movie. It is still very early days, so rights being secured does not always mean the green light is on, but the streamer has brought in Jarrad Paul and Andy Mogel (The Grinder, Huge in France) to pen a script for the project.
The film is being developed by Sophie Cassidy and Matt Crespy for 2.0 Entertainment, Adrian Askarieh for Prime Universe Films, and Alex Westmore for Vali Vista Films, with series creator Rick Husky also on board as an executive producer.
For those too young to remember, the original series aired from 1982 to 1986, starring the legendary William Shatner (Star Trek) as Sgt. T.J. Hooker, a hard-nosed veteran cop who, after a divorce and the tragic death of his partner, returns to the streets to train rookies and clean up his city. He was joined by Heather Locklear (Dynasty), Adrian Zmed (Bachelor Party), and James Darren (Deep Space Nine).
The show had everything you would expect from peak ’80s TV: high-speed chases, questionable police tactics, and a hero who could deliver a moral lesson while leaping onto the hood of a moving car. It seems ripe for an action-comedy revival, especially in a world where Hooker’s no-nonsense, roughneck approach might feel a little outdated. The project, first reported by Deadline, is still in its very early stages.
There is no word yet if the legendary William Shatner, now 94, will return. Despite his age, Shatner remains remarkably active, and in 2021, he even went into space, so you would not want to rule him out entirely.
Paul and Mogel are no strangers to Netflix, currently showrunning Bert with Bert Kreischer and having previously created Huge in France for the streamer. Their film Little Brother, starring John Cena and Eric Andre, is also shooting for Netflix this summer.
‘T.J. Hooker’ action comedy movie does not yet have a release date and is still in early development at Netflix.
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