It was not so long ago that TV was the wasteland for washed up big screen actors and those looking to move up to feature films from sitcom work. Now, television carries an acting prestige as all sorts of projects make their way to cable and network television like never before. As it becomes standard practice to reboot features as series, two more recent movies are on their way to the small screen.
First up is the Bradley Cooper scifi/thriller LIMITLESS. The Neil Burger movie was a vastly underrated movie that followed a struggling writer who takes a mind-altering drug that gives him superhuman capabilities. After getting involved with some murders and a shady corporate tycoon played by Robert De Niro, Cooper’s character eventually makes his way to bigger and better things. Without spoiling anything, LIMITLESS ends on a fairly open note but not one I would have expected to become a show. Cooper will executive produce the series which currently is not tied to a network.
The other project does have a destination and will serve as the first scripted series for National Geographic. That series will be ACT OF VALOR, based on the same titled film from 2012. That military themed series will follow the pararescuemen as seen in the feature as they are dropped into dangerous operations to help those in need. NatGeo will follow the same pattern as other reality-based networks like History and A&E who now air scripted series.
Both films did well at the box office (over $100 million each, worldwide), but neither was critically acclaimed. Even so, they are both coming from Relativity, which is pushing to make their products cross-platform. If they plan to keep this up, expect any movie you see released by the studio as a potential series contender.
Do either of these new series earn a spot on your DVR?