Justified

[WyldeMan45]

Anyone who's ever seen Deadwood has been itching to see actor Timothy Olyphant throw on some spurs and clean up a town again. As Sheriff Seth Bullock, Olyphant brought back images of classic Western characters who weren't afraid to saddle up and take on the bad guys.

After a great stint on FX's Damages—he's back to enforcing the law in the country, this time on FX's upcoming program Justified (formerly Lawman; thanks for the title change,Steven Seagal!). Olyphant, who I've admired since his role as a pill-dealing character in Go, stars as a modern-day Deputy Marshal called Raylan Givens, who only shoots to kill and uses old-timey justice to police a town in Kansas. FX has released a new extended trailer for the program, and from the looks of it, I'm on board. What can I say, I'm a fan of people getting shot. FX has ordered 13 episodes of the series
Trailer

'Justified' premieres Tuesday, March 16 at 10:00/9:00c



What Would Elmore Do?

That's what "Justified" creator and executive producer Graham Yost asks himself and his writing team everyday as they build on crime novelist Elmore Leonard's short story "Fire in the Hole" to create the new FX series starring Timothy Olyphant.

"Justified," premiering March 16 at 10, features Olyphant as one of Elmore's most popular characters, Raylan Givens, a deputy U.S. marshal who only shoots to kill. While "Fire in the Hole" was the guideline for the series pilot, it was on Yost's shoulders to extend Leonard's vision through the rest of the season.

"That was the thing that was most frightening. Could I hit that same tone?" Yost told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour Sunday. "I think we're doing a good job."

Leonard is credited as an executive producer on the series, but he says that's more of an honorary position.

"I'm game," Leonard said. "I'm ready to come up with anything they want."

Yost says the reasons for adapting "Fire in the Hole" as a series include the fact it's set in Kentucky, a location you don't see often on TV; Leonard's sense of character and humor; and the element of unexpected violence.

"I like the entertainment value of the show," said Yost. "I thought it would be a change of pace for FX a little bit in that, while it's a violent show, Raylan Givens is a hero. He's a good guy, and you like him, and you're rooting for him."

"I like the fact that [Raylan is] not a yeller," Yost added. "He just tells it like it is, and that's just the way it's going to be."

Olyphant, whom we last saw in FX's "Damages" and previously on HBO's "Deadwood," doesn't mind being typecast as the aggressive, brooding type, though he does think Raylan is a significant departure from Seth Bullock of "Deadwood."

"Both characters wear hats, but after that, they really start to become their own thing," Olyphant said. "I think that anyone who knows Elmore's work, there's a delicateness to it, and a tone to it, that's just so appealing to me. It's so fun."

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