SCI FI Channel has signed Academy Award-winner F. Murray Abraham (AMADEUS) and Sean Patrick Flanery (YOUNG INDIANA JONES) to star in the hour-long pilot for the drama series DEAD LAWYERS. A Zanuck Co. production in association with Sony Pictures Television, LAWYERS begins filming in Toronto in early December. Paris Barclay (THE SHIELD, NYPD BLUE) directs.
A series about karmic justice, LAWYERS stars Flanery as JIMMY QUINN, an arrogant, heartless lawyer to the rich and famous. After being hit by a bus, Quinn awakens in death only to find himself back on earth, working pro bono cases. Before he can reach the afterlife, he must undo the injustices he had committed during his lifetime. Abraham co-stars as Thomas Whitelaw, Jimmy's afterlife mentor. Also dead, Whitelaw is the managing partner of the pro-bono law firm and father figure to all the dead lawyers trying to make amends.
Dean Zanuck, Harrison Zanuck, Lili Fini Zanuck and Richard Zanuck will exec produce the pilot, written by co-exec producer Christopher Murphey.
Sony Pictures Television (www.sonypicturestelevision.com) produces and distributes top-rated, award-winning programming in every genre, including series, movies and family entertainment for network and cable television; first-run syndicated series; off-network syndicated programs; and theatrical releases.
Launched in '92, SCI FI Channel (www.scifi.com) is a program service of Universal Television Networks, part of the Universal Television Group (www.universalstudios.com), a division of Vivendi Universal Entertainment (VUE), the U.S.-based film, television and recreation entity of Vivendi Universal, a global media and communications company.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
