CBS has committed to the pilot of a new show called Sawyer & Huck, based on the popular characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, reports Deadline.
Today’s TV viewers might instantly think of shows like LOST and Scandal when they hear about a show called Sawyer & Huck. (Those are the names of popular characters from each respective show, for those who haven’t watched.) But anyone familiar with classic literature will realize the tie-in with these two iconic Mark Twain characters, who lived in a time of a major race and class divide.
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In the latest realization of the iconic characters, which was written by The Blacklist writers Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier, we’ll see the pair of boyhood friends dragged into the modern age as adults. In the inaugural episode, Sawyer, now a defense attorney, ends up hiring Finn to help investigate a murder case. The pair decide to team up to help others who don’t have the resources to hire help. It’s sort of a call-back to Twain’s novel Tom Sawyer, Detective.
Several others have attempted to bring the two characters to life on screen, including a previous ABC drama that featured them as investigators in their 20s, a comedy released this summer called Band of Robbers that saw them on the other side of the law, as criminals, and a film released last year that starred Val Kilmer as Mark Twain. Interestingly, this project will only be the second TV writing gigs for Margolis and Sonnier. Given the success they’ve had thus far on The Blacklist, however, they certainly have the talent to make this show great.
Sony Pictures is handling the project, along with John Berman (who created Drop Dead Diva) and CBS TV Studios. The writing pair, along with Berman, Marc Taylor, and Anthony Hemingway, will all executive produce. Hemingway will also direct.
