CBS’s upcoming pilot Alive has found its star in the form of Ryan Phillippe, according to Deadline. The pilot is inspired by the classic story of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, but takes the tale into a police procedural setting.
Phillippe is best known for his starring roles in films like slasher I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), drama 54 (1998) and cult teen flick Cruel Intentions (1999). He has also dabbled in TV before, with his most recent starring role seeing him play Bob Lee Swagger in the USA Network’s thriller drama Shooter.
Alive is set to follow Phillippe as Mark Escher, “a San Francisco homicide detective who’s mysteriously brought back to life after being killed in the line of duty. But as he resumes his old life and he and his wife Elizabeth realise he isn’t the same person he used to be, they zero in on the strange man behind his resurrection: Dr. Victor Frankenstein.”
Phillippe is also joined by Katrina Law (The Oath) as Escher’s wife Elizabeth Lavenza and Aaron Staton (Mad Men) as Victor Frankenstein.
Elizabeth is described as “a pathologist/medical examiner,” who is “stunned when her husband returns from the dead, and though she’s thrilled to have him back, she knows there’s a secret behind his disappearance, his reappearance and his new personality – and she thinks she knows exactly who’s responsible.”
The pilot’s version of Victor Frankenstein is “a brilliant, slightly odd and driven – perhaps obsessed – scientist who is working on a secret, cutting-edge project. On the run from an ethics board in China, Victor is back in the U.S., where he works in a lab and is very involved in whatever it is that’s going on with Escher. He’s also Escher’s wife’s ex.”
Alive is being written and executive produced by Jason Tracey and directed and executive produced by Uta Briesewitz. Elementary creator Rob Doherty is also executive producing the pilot.
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