If you thought that 1970s cop show Starsky & Hutch would only ever have a second life via the 2004 movie starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, think again. In a surprising move, Guardians Of The Galaxy director James Gunn is spearheading a new version on the small screen.
Originally created in 1975 as a movie of the week by William Blinn and produced by Aaron Spelling, the show found David Soul as detective Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson and Paul Michael Glaser as detective David Starsky. It became a hit, and ran for nearly 100 episodes across four seasons.
Now Gunn is taking a fresh crack at it, finding time in his busy schedule developing Guardians Vol. 3 and other Marvel movie ideas to write the script with brother Brian Gunn and cousin Mark Gunn. They have prolific producer Neal Moritz and his Original Films company on board and Sony Pictures Television Studios will be offering the show around networks and other outlets. The plan is – assuming the pilot goes ahead – for James to direct the first episode, assuming he can squeeze it in with his Guardians duties.
Starsky & Hutch feels like one of those evergreen concepts (there are endless police shows on TV) and ripe for a potential reboot. But is it necessary? We'll see when the final version hits screens, assuming it drives out of the development stage.