JJ Abrams, the current he-wh0-can-do-no-wrong in Hollywood, has a new TV series in the works. Not Under Covers, which is already on the way, or Alcatraz, which is just at the pitch stage. This one is called Odd Jobs, and would star Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson as retired government assassins living in quiet suburbia.
Things I like about this:
- Emerson and O’Quinn are tremendous actors, and had terrific chemistry on Lost. However, their final scene together was somewhat lacking, and I felt, watching it, that these two actors, who are clearly friends, had more work to do.
- Old, retired secret agents? That’s been done. In fact, the new movie Red is another take on the topic. And it’s easy to think this could fail, except for the people involved.
- Michael Emerson is very, very funny, and this project is said to be conceived as being on the light side. In fact, O’Quinn came up with the idea as Lost was ending. Giving these two guys a chance to be funny means it appeals to me even more; we had plenty of small tastes of it before.
- Plans call for it to be made for cable, which means one thing and one thing only: boobs. Wait, I meant mature themes and smarter content than you’d find on network TV. Yeah, that’s what I meant.
This show may never be made, but it’s cool to hear the actors involved are still talking about working together. That’s a real treat, and would expose to non-Lost fans the amazing performance power and killer chemistry between two of the show’s heaviest hitters.
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