‘Redeemer’, which was supposed to reunite Matthew McConaughey with the creator of ‘True Detective’, does not go any further after the actor left the drama.
Nic Pizzolatto’s era at FX is coming to an end.
Multiple sources say The Hollywood Reporter that FX and Fox 21 / Touchstone Television are negotiating with Real detective creator of an exit package that would end his initial deal with the two Disney-owned brands. The decision, according to sources, comes at a time when Pizzolatto still has two years to close the deal he signed last year.
Pizzolatto’s FX / Touchstone business was linked to The Redeemer, a drama that would have brought him together Real detective star Matthew McConaughey. Based on the novel by Patrick Coleman The Churchgoer, the drama had a considerable compromise between the script and the series at FX. McConaughey abandoned Redeemer, the sources say, and without the actor involved, FX is no longer advancing the series and no longer needs to keep Pizzolatto under his own agreement linked to the show.
The decision to sever ties with Pizzolatto comes as Touchstone (formerly known as Fox 21) went through a series of changes last year. Fox 21 was part of the studio’s operations that were sold to Disney a few years ago. Disney renamed the studio as Touchstone Television last year and, as part of efforts to consolidate its studio operations, turned Touchstone into 20th Television in December. As part of the changes, Fox 21 / Touchstone President Bert Salke – who oversaw the studio for a decade – stepped down. (Since then, he has signed his own rich production contract with Disney Television Studios.)
Pizzolatto changed its general business to FX / Touchstone last January, after the Real detective creator left his old longtime home on HBO. Pizzolatto had been with HBO since the first season of Real detective. The anthology won 12 Emmy nominations, including for star McConaughey and writing for Pizzolatto. (The first season took home five wins in other categories.)
Regarding his decision to leave HBO, sources said THR Last year, the showrunner met with executives from WarnerMedia’s premium cable network to discuss a new deal and all parties involved agreed it was time to split up. He renewed his original contract with HBO twice, earning about $ 3 million a year. (HBO owns the series rights and can renew it for a fourth season with a new writer.)
Pizzolatto finally signed with FX / Touchstone after meeting with several streamers, as well as traditional studios amidst the arms race and fierce competition to hire established showrunners.
Representatives from Pizzolatto, FX, Touchstone and sister studio 20th Television declined to comment.
As for FX, the basic cable network led by John Landgraf has a list of originals that includes American Horror Story, American Crime Story, Atlanta, Better Things, Breeders, Mayans, Pose, Snowfall and What we do in the shadows as well as the next Reserve dogs and Gun. As part of Disney’s investor day at the end of last year, FX announced a Foreign TV series, a drama with the Rolling Stones and a redesigned version Shogun. The network is also developing a drama with ex- Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner.
Borys Kit contributed to this report.