'The Fugitive' Remake Coming To Quibi, Kiefer Sutherland To Chase Boyd Holbrook
The Fugitive, the popular 1960s TV series about a wrongfully accused man who goes on the run to prove his innocence as a dogged government agent tracks him down, has already been adapted into an acclaimed 1993 movie and a largely-forgotten TV series that aired in the year 2000. But the central premise is so exciting that another remake was bound to come around sooner or later.
Quibi, the upcoming mobile-only platform which will deliver of short pieces of content (or "quick bites"), is next up with a new Fugitive remake, and they've cast Boyd Holbrook (Logan, The Predator) as the innocent man and Kiefer Sutherland (24, Designated Survivor) as the detective tasked with finding him. Read on to learn how the plot will be updated for the modern era.
I seem to have misplaced the synopsis for this new version of The Fugitive, so what I want out of each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse, and doghouse in this area. Actually, scratch that – here it is:
When a bomb rips through the Los Angeles subway train he's riding on, blue-collar Mike Ferro (Holbrook) just wants to make sure his wife, Allison, and 10-year-old daughter, Pearl, are safe. But the faulty evidence on the ground and "tweet-now, confirm-later" journalism paint a nightmarish picture: it looks to all the world that Mike was responsible for the heinous act. Wrongfully—and very publicly—accused, Mike must prove his innocence by uncovering the real perpetrator, before the legendary cop (Sutherland) heading the investigation can apprehend him.
Sutherland is playing Detective Clay Bryce, who seems to be modeled on the U.S. Marshal played by Tommy Lee Jones in the film. I can already picture the ending of the first season: Holbrook proves his innocence, and in a post-credits scene, a shaded figure walks into Sutherland's office and throws a file on his desk, saying he needs help tracking a new fugitive. He steps into the light, and it's Tommy Lee Jones, reprising his Oscar-winning role as Sam Gerard. The crowd goes wild.
Or would they? Quibi is targeting a younger demographic, and even though The Fugitive has gotten plenty of airtime on cable over the past twenty-five years, it's probably a smarter move to just build their own completely separate story with this version of the show.
Stephen Hopkins, who worked with Sutherland on the real-time cop drama 24, will direct the project and serve as an executive producer. Nick Santora (The Sopranos, Prison Break, Breakout Kings) is writing. The show doesn't have a specific release date yet, but the Quibi platform launches on April 6, 2020. Here's the trailer for the '93 movie: