Kevin Bacon starring in Fox TV pilot to be shot in Atlanta
Kevin Bacon is working on a TV pilot. If it makes it on air, this would be his first regular TV role in more than 30 years. CREDIT: AP
Kevin Williamson, the creator of The CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” in Atlanta since 2009, is executive producer of a new still untitled pilot starring Kevin Bacon set to shoot soon in Atlanta for a possible slot on the Fox’s upcoming 2012-13 schedule.
Bacon plays an FBI agent chasing a serial killer, played by James Purefoy of HBO’s “Rome” fame, according to Deadline.com. Purefoy’s character creates a “cult” of serial killers.
Bacon reportedly would play the role only if the season was 15 episodes, instead of the typical 22 on broadcast TV. Fifteen is how many his wife Kyra Sedgwick has done a season starring as an Atlanta transplant in TNT’s “The Closer,” which closes shop this summer. Cable scripted dramas tend to have shorter seasons of 10 to 15 episodes.
The movie actor has not had a regular TV role since his soap days in the early 1980s on “Guiding Light” and “Search for Tomorrow.”
Broadcast networks frequently shoot more pilots than they actually clear for air, frequently dumping two for every one that makes it. Last year, two pilots were shot in Atlanta (ABC’s “Partners” with Annie Werschling and CBS’s “Hail Mary” with Minnie Driver) that were not picked up. Plus, there’s no guarantee a show shot here for the pilot will stay here. TNT’s “Franklin & Bash” and ABC’s “Detroit 1-8-7″ shot pilots here but moved to Los Angeles and Detroit respectively for future episodes.
With Bacon, Purefoy and Williamson aboard, this seems to have a better than average shot at getting on the TV in the 2012-13 season. Screenwriter Williamson has an impressive resume, which includes the film “Scream” and the WB’s “Dawson’s Creek.” And Mr. “Six Degrees of Separation” Bacon? He’s been in more than 60 films, from “Diner” and “Footloose” to “JFK” and “Apollo 13″ to “Mystic River” and “Crazy Stupid Love.”
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By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
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© 2012 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
25 comments Add your comment
Vast Wastrel
February 15th, 2012
2:03 pm
This should get a few locals down to one or two degrees. Atlanta needs better representation on the tube than Drop Dead Diva and the insipid Houswives.
Vast Wastrel
February 15th, 2012
2:05 pm
Housewives.
Deirdre
February 15th, 2012
2:39 pm
Vast Wastrel…How about Vampire Diaries…pretty good. And The Walking Dead…excellent.
Kevin Bacon starring in Fox TV pilot to be shot in Atlanta | ATLANTAboy.com | Gay Atlanta Celebrity, Film, Movie & TV News
February 15th, 2012
2:54 pm
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Not so fast
February 15th, 2012
11:09 pm
That’s vury vury nice.
My Two Cents
February 15th, 2012
11:28 pm
Great!!!
Kat
February 15th, 2012
11:28 pm
How does the AJC determine the difference between this blog (R&TV Talk) and the Entertainment one by Jennifer Brett? How does the AJC determine which stories are covered by which reporter? Personally, I like Rodney’s stuff the best.
Rodney Ho
February 15th, 2012
11:37 pm
@Kat I try to focus on TV and radio exclusively though sometimes Jenn will pick up some stuff that I miss or don’t have time to do. And vice versa. And thanks! I won’t tell Jenn!
GEORGIA97
February 16th, 2012
7:23 am
Annie Wersch”l”ing? Is she somehow related to Annie Wersching? Dummy.
Joe Mama
February 16th, 2012
9:22 am
Rodney, I’m not especially interested in this pilot or the potential show, but I thought your piece was really informative on the subject of pilots and where they go/what can happen to them. You packed a *ton* of good background information into a short piece.
Frank Furter
February 16th, 2012
9:24 am
Love the Bacon Brothers band!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Not-Quite-Devils/189460134436969
bodybuilder granny
February 16th, 2012
9:42 am
Sounds good, just as long as we don’t have to see another Tyler Perry film, I swear his films are like the same over and over. Welcome Kevin Bacon, he is a very talented actor and would love to see him star in a tv show here!
Mike
February 16th, 2012
10:56 am
Kevin Bacon has said that Kyra Sedgwick was getting tired of “The Closer” because it was produced in LA and he and the kids were in New York. I don’t know where his new series is supposed to be set, but New York is very friendly to production crews doing crime dramas.
On the other hand, she would get a chance to improve her Atlanta accent…
rlm
February 16th, 2012
11:04 am
Kevin Bacon is one of the most overlooked actors in film today. Kyra did not get the emmys she deserved. They do not play the Hollywood game. I think Kevin Bacon is one of the best actors of his era. He did not marry Angelina or criticize US foreign policy. His father was not a big producer. He is just a great actor. How great if he were in town.
AJ
February 16th, 2012
11:29 am
@Georgia97 – Seriously? He has a typo and that makes him a “dummy”? It’s amazing how rude people can be under the veil of anonymity.
Rodney Ho
February 16th, 2012
11:43 am
@Joe Mama. I usually get slagged for making mistakes and typos or simply being a bad writer. So thank you for a rare compliment!
SuzeC
February 16th, 2012
12:00 pm
Let’s just hope that if the pilot is actually set in the ATL that Bacon does a better Southern accent than his wife did; The Closer was unwatchable to me because of her awful fake accent.
CKM
February 16th, 2012
12:20 pm
I love Neil Simon/Marsha Mason movies. I recently watched “Only When I Laugh”. Here comes Kevin Bacon in a small scene. He looked all of 17 maybe 18. I agree he’s a great actor; he’s been around for a long time now. Has anyone seen any of his full-frontal scenes? Good Night!
atlmom
February 16th, 2012
3:46 pm
Partners was shot (at least one scene) on my street, so I was sad that it wasn’t picked up.
I’d LOVE to see Bacon around town *swoon*. They make a lot of pilots here because it’s CHEAP, but then when they’re picked up they move them elsewhere. Let’s hope this one would be shot HERE!
GEORGIA97
February 17th, 2012
8:01 am
@AJ it’s called a JOB and if he can’t do it right then a breaking of the balls is fully justified.
Bev Powell
February 17th, 2012
11:50 am
Regarding Kyra’s accent in The Closer, her character left a job in Atlanta for one in L.A. That doesn’t necessarily mean she was supposed to be an Atlanta native. Lots of us came from the “country” to work in ATL and never quite lost our rural accent. Members of my family were fascinated by how much “Brenda Leigh” sounded like our Aunt Lila in Habersham County.
Rob West
February 17th, 2012
9:52 pm
Which house is going to be casting this? I’d love to get my start on something like this.
Rod
February 18th, 2012
12:21 am
GEORGIA97 – tell us all where you work so we can go there and “break your balls” everytime you make a mistake.
I DARE YOU.
Jim Tavegia
February 18th, 2012
7:37 am
Kevin, most people move to where there job is and not whine about East coast, West coast. In this economy be glad to have a working family making great money doing what you love. I am amazed at the the accommodations people think they deserve.
Reid in EAV
February 18th, 2012
9:12 pm
Had a chance to interview both Kevin and Michael Bacon for a Bacon Brothers bio a few years back. Didn’t realize until I did my research that their dad was Ed Bacon, who was an exceedingly influential city planner in Philadelphia primarily in the middle of the 20th century. Fascinating family. And yes, now I am but one degree separated.