EXCLUSIVE: Jack Ryan, Tom Clancy’s popular CIA hero, is heading to television with a TV series from former Lost duo of co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and writer Graham Roland, Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes and Paramount TV. There has been a lot of interest in the project, with multiple outlets bidding.
Conceived by Cuse and Roland based on Clancy’s novels, I hear the show is not a direct adaptation of the books as were the firsts Jack Ryan movies but a new contemporary take on the character in his prime as a CIA analyst/operative using the novels as source material. Cuse and Roland executive produce alongside Platinum Dunes’ Bay and Bradley Fuller.
I hear Paramount TV first teamed with Platinum Dunes for the project, extending Transformers director-producer Bay’s relationship with the studio on the feature side where he has a first-look deal. Cuse, a big fan of the books, and Roland then came on board and developed their idea for a Jack Ryan TV series.
In the novels, Ryan, medically retired following a helicopter crash, works as an investment broker before taking a position at the U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Naval Academy and later joining the CIA, rising through the ranks to Deputy Director and eventually becoming President of the United States.
Unlike some classic literary/screen characters that are identified with the actor who has portrayed them, thus making a TV adaptation challenging to cast, the Jack Ryan movie franchise has seen four different actor take on the role — Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and, most recently, Chris Pine. That would make it easier for a new Jack Ryan to be introduced to TV audiences.
Paramount’s Jack Ryan feature franchise spans 5 movies — from The Hunt For Red October starring Baldwin in 1990 to Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit in 2o13. It has glossed almost $1 billion worldwide.
Cuse has 3 series on the air that he co-created and executive produces, A&E’s Bates Motel, FX’s The Strain and USA’s upcoming Colony. The prolific writer-producer has a first-look deal at A+E Studios for his Carlton Cuse Productions. In features, he wrote this summer’s tentpole San Andreas.
Roland and Cuse hit it off while working together on Lost and have stayed close, with Roland recently serving as co-executive producer on Cuse’s A&E drama series The Returned. Roland also wrote Mile 22, Peter Berg’s upcoming movie starring Mark Wahlberg.
Since Paramount TV’s launch two years ago, series adaptations of movies from the Paramount library by the TV production company have yielded two series orders, for Minority Report at Fox and School of Rock at Nickelodeon, and two pilot pickup, for Shooter at USA and Urban Cowboy at Fox. Additionally, a Galaxy Quest series is in development at Amazon.
Platinum Studios’ TV slate includes Starz drama Black Sails and TNT’s The Last Ship.
Cuse, Roland and Bay are repped by WME.
Last edited by Walts Ghost; 09-23-2015 at 12:51 AM.
In a competitive situation, Jack Ryan, Paramount Television’s hot TV series project based on Tom Clancy’s popular CIA hero, has landed at Amazon. I hear the streaming service has given a series commitment to the drama, from the former Lost duo of co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and writer Graham Roland, Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes, Skydance Media, as well as Paramount TV. Everyone’s intention is to go straight-to-series on the project, which would be done based on completed scripts and a bible.
Amazon is considered a suitable home for Jack Ryan as the online retailer sells Clancy’s books as well as the Jack Ryan movies on DVD and is the streaming home for most or all of them, creating opportunities for a multi-platform push for the show. Paramount TV already is in business with Amazon, developing a series adaptation of the Paramount movie Galaxy Quest.
Conceived by Cuse and Roland based on Clancy’s novels, I had heard that the show is not a direct adaptation of the books as were the first Jack Ryan movies but a new contemporary take on the character in his prime as a CIA analyst/operative using the novels as source material. Roland executive produces with Cuse and Lindsey Springer of Carlton Cuse Prods. as well as Platinum Dunes’ Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form and the movie franchise’s producer Mace Neufeld.
I hear Paramount TV first teamed with Platinum Dunes for the project, extending Transformers director-producer Bay's existing relationship with the studioon the feature side where he has a first-look deal. Cuse, a big fan of the books, and Roland then came on board and developed their idea for a Jack Ryan TV series.
I hear Roland was drawn to the project in part by his background as a veteran US Marine. Roland actually was inspired to became a TV writer by watching a season of Lost on DVD while deployed in Iraq on one of three combat tours. He taught himself to write using Lost as a guide, wrote a spec that landed him an agency representation (WME) and ultimately got a writing gig on Lost where he and the show’s executive producer/co-showrunner Cuse hit it off. The two have stayed close, with Roland recently serving as co-executive producer on Cuse’s A&E drama series The Returned.
In the novels, Ryan, medically retired following a helicopter crash, works as an investment broker before taking a position at the U.S. Naval Academy and later joining the CIA, rising through the ranks to Deputy Director and eventually becoming President of the United States.
Unlike some classic literary characters that are closely identified with the actor who has portrayed them, thus making a TV adaptation challenging to cast, the Jack Ryan movie franchise has seen four different actor take on the role — Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and, most recently, Chris Pine. That would make it easier for a new Jack Ryan to be introduced to TV audiences.
Paramount’s Jack Ryan feature franchise spans five movies — from The Hunt For Red October starring Baldwin in 1990 to the 2013 Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit starring Pine, which Skydance co-produced. It has grossed almost $1 billion worldwide.
Cuse has three series on the air that he co-created and executive produces: A&E’s Bates Motel, FX’s The Strain and USA’s upcoming Colony. The prolific writer-producer has a first-look deal at A+E Studios for his Carlton Cuse Productions. In features, he wrote this summer’s tentpole San Andreas.
Since Paramount TV’s launch two years ago, the company has landed multiple series and pilot orders for series adaptations of movies from the Paramount library as well as original concepts. Those include series Minority Report at Fox, and the upcoming School Of Rock at Nickelodeon, Alienist at TNT, based on the book, and spy thriller Berlin Station at EPIX; as well as pilots Shooter at USA and Urban Cowboy at Fox.
Platinum Dunes’ TV slate includes Starz drama Black Sails and TNT’s The Last Ship. Skydance’s series portfolio includes Grace And Frankie on Netflix and Manhattan on WGN America.
Cuse and and Bay are repped by WME. Roland, who also wrote Mile 22, Peter Berg’s upcoming movie starring Mark Wahlberg, is repped by WME, Rain Management Group and Bloom Hergott.
Last edited by Walts Ghost; 09-30-2015 at 04:44 AM.
Too bad it's on Amazon only. I'd love to check this out. I haven't enjoyed a Jack Ryan movie since Clear and Present Danger. The character is a perfect fit for a television series.
The Office actor John Krasinski is heading back to the small screen, albeit as a character who is very different from the lovable Jim on the long-running NBC sitcom. Per Deadline, Krasinski is attached to star in a Jack Ryan TV series from Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes, which has just landed at Amazon Studios with a series commitment. While it’s not official just yet, the intention is to go straight-to-series with this Tom Clancy adaptation, with Krasinski’s casting sealing the deal for this thing to move forward.
The Jack Ryan character has been portrayed onscreen by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and most recently Chris Pine in a series of feature films that are mostly quite good. Baldwin’s turn only encompassed The Hunt for Red October, but Ford’s run of Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger was terrific. Affleck got his turn in the forgettable 2002 redo The Sum of All Fears, and Pine lead the recent reboot Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, which failed to muster much of anything.
And so Paramount turned its focus to television, with Cuse and writer Graham Roland conceiving of a story for the CIA agent that’s not an origin tale, but instead picks up during his prime as a CIA analyst. There’s no one Clancy book serving as the main inspiration for the Jack Ryan TV series, but all of the novels will inform the show as source material.
Krasinski most recently made his action debut in the Bay-directed 13 Hours, so it appears he’s keen on moving into the espionage genre with Jack Ryan. He’s a swell actor and seems like a fine fit for the character, so I’m all for it.
Cuse, meanwhile, continues to be one of the busiest people in TV as he currently serves as showrunner or co-showrunner on FX’s The Strain, A&E’s Bates Motel, and USA’s Colony. Jack Ryan will make it a quartet.
Krasinski is a good choice. I would have been on the fence until I saw him in 13 Hours. Although I'm a huge fan of Olyphant and think he could nail this role.
John Krasinski stars in the 10-episode drama from Carlton Cuse, Michael Bay, Paramount and Skydance.
Nearly a year after it was put in development, Amazon is moving forward with its Jack Ryan drama.
The streaming service announced Tuesday that it has officially greenlit the reboot of Tom Clancy's popular CIA books with a 10-episode series pickup.
Starring The Office grad John Krasinski as the titular character. The drama follows Ryan as he uncovers a pattern in terrorist communication that launches him into the center of a dangerous gambit with a new breed of terrorism that threatens destruction on a global scale. Carlton Cuse (Bates Motel, The Strain) and Graham Roland (Almost Human) penned the script and developed the project together. The drama is a co-production between Paramount Television and Skydance Television. Platinum Dunes' Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form exec produce alongside Skydance's David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Marcy Ross with Mace Neufeld and Lindsey Springer also on board.
"We’re excited to add the Jack Ryan global franchise to our robust originals pipeline,” Amazon Studios head Roy Price said. “Our customers will enjoy a compelling adaptation of the action-packed spy thriller book series, further raising the bar for the quality level of storytelling that has made Prime Video a leading destination for content.”
The drama marks yet another reboot for the small screen as broadcast, cable and streaming outlets alike look for recognizable IP in a bid to cut through the clutter in a scripted landscape featuring more than 400 originals. There have been five Jack Ryan films with the character previously played by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Pine. The drama landed at Amazon last year following a multiple-network bidding war.
For Cuse, Jack Ryan comes as the Lost grad is prepping the final season of A&E's Bates Motel, poised to make his directorial debut in the upcoming third season finale of FX's The Strain and has the sophomore run of USA Network's Colony due in 2017.
Bay, meanwhile, has the upcoming fourth and final season of Starz's Black Sails as well as TNT's The Last Ship.
For Paramount TV, Jack Ryan becomes the studio's latest title from its film library to be adapted for the small screen. It joins CBS All Access' Star Trek, Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events as well as previous efforts including Fox's Minority Report, Nick's School of Rock as well as USA's twice-delayed Shooter.
At Skydance, Jack Ryan joins a roster of TV projects that include WGN America's Manhattan, Netflix's Grace and Frankie, Altered Carbon as well as Spike's Red Mars.
With the role in Jack Ryan Krasinski, repped by WME, will make his return to series regular television following his nine-season run on NBC's The Office. He also exec produces Spike's Emmy-nominated series Lip Sync Battle.
When author Tom Clancy first introduced the Jack Ryan character in his 1984 novel The Hunt for Red October, there’s no way he knew this one CIA analyst would become a stalwart of cinema for decades to come, with no less than four different actors filling the role in a variety of films. And while Chris Pine and Paramount attempted a big screen reboot for the character with 2014’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, now a wholly different approach is taking shape on the small screen with yet another Jack Ryan: John Krasinski.
The Office veteran showed off his action hero skills in Michael Bay’s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Bengazi, which led to him being cast as the new Jack Ryan in a TV series iteration of the character for Amazon and executive producer Carlton Cuse (Lost, Bates Motel, The Strain), who’s serving as showrunner. In addition to starring in the series, Krasinski is serving as a producer, and Amazon recently ordered the show to series with a 10-episode first season in the works.
This week I had the chance to speak with Krasinski in anticipation of his new directorial effort, the warm and delightful family drama The Hollars (opening in limited release this Friday—see it!), and during the course of our conversation we also discussed what fans can expect from Jack Ryan.
We spoke about how much the TV landscape has changed just in the short amount of time since The Office has been off the air, and Krasinski revealed that they’re approaching Jack Ryan as a 10-hour movie in every way:
Quote:
“We’re doing 10 episodes and I think the interesting part about it is exactly what you said, everything’s changed so much; the line between film and TV has blurred so much over the years, I think Jack Ryan is a product of that blurring so much that I think that they’re not even really considering it a TV show, they’re calling it a movie that’s being told in 10 parts; and that’s not just an argument of semantics, it’s actually true. Carlton Cuse’s whole plan is we’re gonna shoot it on a movie budget, we’re gonna have the same stunts as movies, it’s gonna feel like a movie but you’re gonna watch it every week. His whole idea was he just felt that two hours wasn’t enough time to tell a Jack Ryan story because Tom Clancy’s books are so detailed and rich, and the character of Jack Ryan if he has a superpower is his intelligence, so there’s a lot of problem solving and things that take time, and that’s the beauty of the spy genre. That’s what I found was the best pitch to me is it’s really just what’s the best format to tell this story?”
There are still a number of Clancy novels that have yet to be mined for the big screen, but Krasinski said their approach for Jack Ryan is to have the character tackle modern, real-world issues. First up? ISIS:
Quote:
“Every year they’re gonna be different. They’re sort of more ripped-from-the-headlines type stuff, so the first year the villain or I don’t know what you want to call it is it’s taking on ISIS for sure.”
Krasinski revealed that they’re currently aiming for a January production start date, with various locations around the globe, and given that he’s now directed two feature films and a handful of episodes of The Office, I asked if he’d be directing any of Jack Ryan:
Quote:
“At some point I would. I don’t know if I’ll do it the first season, I think I’m gonna let them—all of us need to sort of figure out what show we’re telling, and we’re gonna have such great people involved and I’m so lucky that they made me one of the producers of the show, so I’m gonna be busy doing that.”
Finally, we’ve now seen Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine fill the Jack Ryan role. Who’s Krasinski’s favorite?
Quote:
“You know what’s funny is I think they’re all so different, but the old adage you always remember your first, there’s something about that Alec Baldwin one in Hunt for Red October that I always loved.”
There’s no release date just yet for Jack Ryan, and a series of this scale will no doubt take a while to shoot, but it certainly sounds like an exciting and promising take on the material that’ll offer up a very different kind of spy story for the TV landscape. Look for my full interview with Krasinski later this week.
“You know what’s funny is I think they’re all so different, but the old adage you always remember your first, there’s something about that Alec Baldwin one in Hunt for Red October that I always loved.”
Alec Baldwin came the closest to nailing Jack Ryan as written in the books, and because of that he's always been my favorite actor in the role. Nice to see Krasinski picking Alec as well. I hope to see them take the character more in that direction on the show.
Sounds like his role in 13 Hours got him this gig. How many Jack Ryans have we had though? This part is becoming like John Connor with the revolving door of actors.
Sounds like his role in 13 Hours got him this gig. How many Jack Ryans have we had though? This part is becoming like John Connor with the revolving door of actors.
Five actors to this point. But considering this will probably be a show for at least a couple seasons, it seems fair to think Krasinski will be Jack Ryan longer than anyone else. Though I do think it would have been cool to do a third film with Harrison Ford now, where he's President, and Jack Ryan, Jr. is also in it, much like the novels. But hey, beggars can't be choosers. Bring me more Jack Ryan!
This sounds like it could be something really great. I wonder if they will include the John Clark character, or introduce him in the second season. They could have a TV franchise on their hands if it is successful. I would love to see a Rainbow Six TV series if they include the character of John Clark.
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