Ben H. Winters’ acclaimed novel The Last Policeman is getting a TV adaptation from showrunner Kyle Killen. Deadline broke the news, revealing that the project has a pilot order from Fox for its 2021/2022 season.
Winters published the novel in 2012, the first of a trilogy (it’s followed by Countdown City and World of Trouble), set in April 2011 just after horrific discovery: a massive asteroid, Maia, is headed to Earth, and it will hit on October 3rd, 2012.
The novel follows a police detective named Henry Palace, who begins investigating the death of a man who apparently completed suicide. Palace is skeptical, believes that there’s more to the case than meets the eye, and begins to investigate it as a murder. Deadline notes that the series will be called The Last Police, and that the main character will be a female detective who believes that she might be able to save humanity, all while dealing with a cynical male partner.
Winters earned some acclaim for the book—he won the 2013 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original, placed nineteenth on the Locus Award list for Best SF novel, and his sequel earned the 2014 Philip K. Dick Award.
The book has been optioned a couple of times: first in 2012 and again in 2016 by NBC from the folks who made AMC’s Preacher. Both attempts never resulted in a show.
Deadline notes that Killen—who created NBC’s 2012 series Awake and who recently stepped down from the upcoming Halo series—will write, direct, and executive produce the project as part of an overall deal he has with Fox.
There’s no word on casting or even if the series will get a full-season pickup, but that decision will likely come once the pilot is completed, as the network figures out its schedule in the coming year.
Me reading headline: Ooh!
Me reading ‘for Fox:’ Oh.
Me reading retitle and new premise: I’m out.
I really enjoyed this book series, hopefully the show gets made and lives up to the books!
I quite enjoyed this Ben Winters trilogy but am also skeptical of the TV production’s Fox connection. The modern Fox network has been a graveyard for cerebral sci-fi shows, from 2013’s “Almost Human” with Karl Urban and Michael Ealy to 2019’s “The Passage” starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar. Too many one-and-dones. And as noted, showrunner Killen’s exquisite “Awake,” with a fabulous lead performance by Jason Isaacs, was here and then gone on NBC (although it successfully presented its story over its 13 episodes). “The Last Policeman”s tale deserves a longer-term commitment to properly tell its story — I’m doubtful it will get the chance on Fox.
Turning it into a police-buddy procedural. No Thank You…
I’m not one who hates a book adaptation that isn’t exactly like the book. But it sounds like they changed what made the book so great. I liked that Det. Palace wasn’t trying to save the world, but just wanted to do his damn job. I hope I’m wrong but I’m not hopeful.