Filming has finished on the pilot episode of FX’s new show ‘Powers’ and we have a first look of Jason Patric in his role.
Patric will play the lead character Christian Walker, a police detective who investigates cases that involve people who have superpowers (or “powers” as they are called). Although known more for his movie roles, Patrick chose this show as his first foray in television because, “Powers is unlike anything I’ve ever seen….”
‘Powers’ is based on the long running comic series of the same name by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming and has won three Eisner Awards. In the comic book version, ‘Powers’ is set in a world where superpowers are relatively common. It follows the lives of two detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, who are involved in investigating cases that involve “powers” (people with superpower ability). Walker himself used to be a costumed superhero named Diamond, but became a police officer after he lost his superhero powers. He still retains his contacts within the superhero community and uses these connections to help solve his cases.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the first story in the ‘Powers’ comic will serve as the basis for the pilot. It involves the murder of Retro Girl, a superpowered celebrity. Walker, who gets paired up with a rookie on the case (Deena Pilgrim), is determined to track down the killer even if it costs him his badge.
Although the pilot is based on the graphic novels, the show’s writer and executive producer Charles H. Eglee (‘Dark Angel’, ‘The Walking Dead’, ‘The Shield’) says the show won’t be dependent on telling stories already told in the book. He wanted to do this project because he wanted to create “some interesting characters in a law enforcement context, and it just so happens that the bad guys they’re fighting have abilities that regular people don’t have. I just look at our bad guys as metaphors for real-life characters.” He also describes ‘Powers’ as “a mashup of genres — like, if you took ‘Se7en’ and smushed it with ‘The Dark Knight.’ ”
There seems to be some good buzz about the project. At a press conference last week, FX chief, John Landgraf, said, “ The superhero genre is ripe for reinvention. Everything television has ever done in that genre is the equivalent of [a 7 or 8] o’clock show — light, breezy [and] special effects-oriented. I’m not saying that ‘Powers’ isn’t fun, but it aspires to be a serious drama, and it’s fascinating to me to try to reshape and reinvent familiar genres.” When asked why it took so long to bring ‘Powers’ to the small screen, he replied, “It is for the same reason we cast Jason Patric in this role; we are aiming for something extraordinary.”
The pilot so far sounds like this show could be a hit. If the FX network executives decide to pick up the show, the series would start appearing on the FX channel sometime in June 2012. But what’s not to like? Mix in some Heroes’ with a little ‘CSI’ crime drama and you’ve got a series worth watching! Currently ‘Powers’ is in post-production and no there is no air date for the pilot yet, but once we hear, we’ll let you know!
