Entertainment

Cop Dramas Are About To Get 'Fast & Furious'

by Michelle Lulic

The Fast & Furious franchise may have reached it's end, but that doesn't mean that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is ready to leave high-speed action behind for good. In fact, this time around, it looks like he may take all of that car-chasing excitement we're used to and bring it to the small-screen in the form of the brand new Fast & Furious -styled cop drama for FOX, titled Boost Unit .

Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia's production company, Seven Bucks Productions, just nabbed a script deal for the new series with FOX, according to Entertainment Weekly . And, if you're wondering just how similar to the Fast & Furious franchise the series might be, EW reports that each episode of their new venture is "a high-octane, action-packed hour that follows the newest recruit of the LAPD’s Auto Theft Task Force, a notorious getaway driver with a hidden past." So, yeah. It's not the same characters from the Fast & Furious movies you're used to, but it's certainly the same feel.

In fact, Johnson's goal as the show's executive producer seems to be honing in on the ability to capture the action elements from popular franchise and put them in a whole new medium. "We’re bringing to life the high stakes street pursuits and grueling work of this very specialized elite task force," Johnson explained in the show's recently released press release, "and we’re excited to partner with Imperative Entertainment to combine an epic mix of gripping action and sophisticated storytelling. This is a powerful partnership with Imperative. We couldn’t be more excited to work together in a world that we know and love – fast cars, high stakes and iconic characters." Johnson also explained the project more in sharing the news with his fans via Instagram.

So, can they actually pull this off? Of course, one of the main differences that exists between television and film is the size of the production itself — also known as the size of a budget for a blockbuster film compared to that of a network television series. Between the costs of locations, special effects, stunt artists, and more, Furious Seven held a budget of about $190 million for the film. What about the budget for an average FOX television series? It varies per episode — but it's certainly not nearly as much as a number in the hundred millions.

However, I do have to admit that it's pretty exciting to think of bigger and bolder action on television. Additionally, other action-based television shows seem to be fairing pretty well so far, especially on the same network: With current and former FOX hits such as Gotham, Sleepy Hollow, and 24 each able to pull off action sequences believably and stunningly, Boost Unit should be able to pull it off just as well.