Justified star Timothy Olyphant could be dusting off his stetson very soon and potentially returning as his character Emmy nominated character for a new FX series. Variety reports that Justified creator Graham Yost will executive produce a TV adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel “City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit,”which has Justified executive producers Michael Dinner and Dave Andron attached to co-write and co-showrun. According to the trade “Olyphant could star in the series or appear in a smaller role, but no deal has yet been made,” and development on the series is in the early stages.
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One thing of note is that the original Leonard novel did not feature the character of Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, surprising considering how often the prolific writer used the character in other stories. The character appeared in novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and the short story “Fire in the Hole,” which became the basis for Justified. Released in 1980, City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit is officially described as follows:
“Clement Mansell knows how easy it is to get away with murder. The cool killer is already back on the Detroit scene- thanks to some nifty courtroom moves by his lawyer- and he’s feeling invincible enough to execute a crooked judge on a whim. Lieutenant Raymond Cruz things the ‘Oklahoma Wildman’ crossed the line long before this latest ourrage, and he’s determined to see that the hayseed psycho meets an end he deserves, with a gun pointed at him. But that means a good cop, having to play somewhat fast and loose with the rules…in order to maneuver Mansell into a wild Midwest showdown that he can’t walk away from.”
Michael Dinner will also reportedly direct the new series which has Chris Provenzano, Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly of Timberman-Beverly, VJ Boyd, and Taylor Elmore all also set as executive producers. The series is being set up at Sony Pictures Television which previously produced Justified.
The Timothy Olyphant led series premiered on FX in 2010 and ran for six seasons on the cable network. Justified was nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards across its run including a Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Olyphant and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Walton Goggins, both in its second season. Among the few Emmy wins for the series was Margo Martindale for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and Jeremy Davies for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
