Skip to main content

John Woo set to produce serial killer thriller series Cognition

john woo conviction tv series
Adriano Castelli / Shutterstock.com
John Woo, the director behind such blockbuster films as Mission Impossible II and Face/Off, has been tapped to executive produce a new TV series called Cognition, alongside television and film production company Catalyst Global Media, reports Variety.

Dubbed a neo-noir crime thriller, Cognition sounds a little bit like the first season of True Detective, following the story of former detective Travis Augustine, who attempts to resolve a 10-year-long serial killer investigation that consumed his life for the decade and, that he theorizes, may have been the trauma that led to his cancer. As Augustine undergoes an untested medical procedure to hopefully cure his disease, he tries to shake that investigation. But a series of copycat crimes start taking place, drudging up the memories, and making it tough for him to forget.

Related: Netflix snags its first original series from Italy, Suburra

The show will be set in two key, and contrasting spots: America’s mid-West, and the Far East. The new set of crimes will commence within an Asian metropolis.

Alex Garcia Lopez, who was behind British cult TV series Utopia and Misfits, created the show, and will also direct. Meanwhile, Woo will serve as executive producer with Terence Chang and Lori Tilkin. Catalyst, which was most recently behind the Peter Pan-inspired TV series Peter & Wendy, will both develop and finance the project, and handle distribution of the show worldwide. There’s no word yet on a North American network pickup.

Charlotte Walls, CEO of Catalyst, calls Woo “provocatively stylish, masterful” and notes his commercial approach as being in “perfect alignment with Catalyst’s agenda to deliver high-end mainstream TV series and films…”

While Woo has had a string of both hits and misses in North America over the past several decades, he has been mainly out of the Hollywood spotlight for the past few years.

The series, which will begin production next year, will include eight one-hour episodes. There’s no word yet on casting.

Editors' Recommendations

Christine Persaud
Christine is a professional editor and writer with 18 years of experience in trade and consumer journalism. While she started…
The 50 best movies on Netflix right now (June 2023)
The cast of The Boss Baby.

For all of the money that Netflix spends on its original films, it's often the flicks on loan from other studios that tend to dominate the top spots on Netflix's top movie list. Case in point, at the time of this week's update, DreamWorks Animation's The Boss Baby and Warner Bros.' We're the Millers have the No. 1 and No. 2 slots, respectively, on the top ten movies on Netflix. But if you're looking for family fare or a great comedy, then they are both good choices.

But if neither of those options works for you, just remember that there's always something new to watch on Netflix. And we constantly update our list of the best movies on Netflix right now so you can see the terrific choices at your fingertips.

Read more
The best movies on Hulu right now (June 2023)
Jesse Garcia and Dennis Haysbert in Flamin' Hot.

Hulu is the real home for films in the Disney empire, largely because there are shockingly few new movies on Disney+. Hulu also behaves more like a conventional streaming platform because additional films are added every month, and other titles leave at the end of the month. This is the place to be for many of the legendary films of 20th Century Studios, as well as more recent additions to the library like the newly released Hulu original Flamin' Hot.

There are new movies coming to Hulu all the time, and we're on top of the changes with our updated list of the best movies on Hulu right now. If you're looking for your next movie night on Hulu, then we've got you covered.

Read more
Watch Adrien Broner vs Bill Hutchinson: The return of the “The Problem”
Promotional poster showing Adrien Broner and Bill Hutchinson.

FITE TV

Adrien "The Problem" Broner (34-4-1, 24KOs) is working on a comeback. He and his promoter Don King are staging a return bout with Bill Hutchinson (20-2-4, 9 KOs) at the Casino Miami Jai Alai in Miami, Florida this weekend. Broner has only fought once since his 2019 loss to Manny Pacquiao. That unanimous decision loss seemed to put the nail in the coffin of his career. Broner's previous two fights were a loss to Mikey Garcia and a draw to Jessie Vargas. Broner and King are hoping for an exciting, career-revitalizing fight that will get Broner some attention from bigger names in the division.

Read more