Kevin Costner’s National Parks crime drama passed over by ABC

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Kevin Costner can't win 'em all. It was announced earlier this year that ABC had given a pilot order to National Parks Investigation, a crime drama co-written and executive produced by Kevin Costner. "While the national parks are known for their sweeping, beautiful landscapes, there is also a darker, more sinister side to these parks that attract a vast array of criminal activity," read the official logline. "'National Parks' will follow the small group of elite NPS agents as they solve these crimes while protecting these national treasures." Unfortunately, it seems that the series won't be moving forward as ABC has officially passed on the pilot

Anthony Hemingway (American Crime Story) directed the National Parks Investigation pilot as well as executive producing alongside Aaron Helbing (Spartacus) and Jon Baird (The Explorers Guild), who also wrote the pilot with Kevin Costner. The cast of National Parks Investigation included Billy Campbell, Angel Parker, Guillermo Diaz, Tiffany Dupont, Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut, Blu Hunt, and Gerardo Celasco. In addition to Kevin Costner's project, ABC also passed on pilots for medical procedural Triage and political drama Dark Horse.

Kevin Costner doesn't dabble in television all that often, and his biggest venture into the medium thus far has been Yellowstone, a Paramount Network series that follows "the Dutton family, led by John Dutton (Costner), who controls the largest contiguous ranch in the United States. The ranch is under constant attack by those it borders—land developers, an Indian reservation, and United States of America's first National Park. It is an intense study of a violent world far from media scrutiny, where land grabs earn developers billions, and politicians are bought and sold by the world's largest oil and lumber corporations. Where unsolved murders are not news, they are a consequence of living in the new frontier. It is the best and worst of the United States as seen through the eyes of a family that represents both." The fourth season of the series was delayed due to COVID-19 and it was revealed earlier today that it may not debut until November.