When NBC announced the ten episode first season of Taken as a joint production with Luc Besson’s EuropaCorps, no one expected it to last, or to be good if it did. No one thought the violent, edgy, mature, very high quality source material would make it past broadcast network sensors as anything remotely recognizable. At HBO, certainly a show based on Luc Besson and Liam Neeson’s Taken franchise would work, or maybe even FX; but NBC?? Who was kidding whom?? Lo and behold, Taken did scrape up barely enough ratings (1.5 in adults 18-49 and 7.5 million viewers ) to stay on the air at NBC. The drama is a cost-effective co-production with Universal Television and Europa Corp financing together. That, paired with strong international sales for the action series, helped land the series a renewal for a sixteen episode second season.
And then, then showrunner got replaced; the show fell from the fall schedule into midseason, and now reports surface of a cast overhaul. The new Showrunner, Greg Plageman made a name for himself at Jonathan Nolan and Jim Cavisel’s Person of Interest. One would expect Mr Plageman, to put his own imprint on the show, but not so drastically that it required a new cast. Surprize! Mr Plageman overhauled the cast, letting six of the series regulars go. The last man and woman standing are Clive Standen (Brian Mills) and Jennifer Beals (Christina Hart).
NBC is in business with EuropaCorp and Luc Besson himself on this project. So, they should know they’ve got a hit on their hands, if all the powers that be can agree on the tone and narrative direction of the story. Apparently those agreements have been reached. Though a source close to the production told TVLine that the new showrunner is indeed taking the show in a very different direction. Thus, Mr Plageman showed Gaius Charles (John), Brooklyn Sudano (Asha), Monique Gabriela Curnen (Vlasik), Michael Irby (Scott), Jose Pablo Cantillo (Dave) and James Landry Hébert (Rem) to the door. The next season is expected to adopt more procedural elements along the lines of NBC’s The Blacklist and Blindspot.
Follow Us
