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FX's John Landgraf announces new pilot, The Bridge

By April MacIntyre Jul 28, 2012, 17:54 GMT

John Landgraf - ArcLight Hollywood - Hollywood, CA, USA © Koi Sojer / PR Photos

Saturday AM at the television critics' association summer tour at the Beverly Hilton features FX and their stars Russell Brand, Charlie Sheen, Louis C.K. and Kurt Sutter and the Sons of Anarchy cast.

FX announced their next drama series pilot, The Bridge, based on an international hit series, which will be adapted for American television by Meredith Stiehm (Homeland) and Elwood Reid (Hawaii Five-O), announced John Landgraf, President and General Manager, FX Networks.

From FX

Adapted from the Scandinavian series Bron, The Bridge centers on two detectives from the United States and Mexico who must work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the border after a dead body is found on the bridge connecting El Paso and Juarez.

“We really loved the Scandinavian drama and Meredith’s and Elwood’s script adaption is very compelling and true to its progenitor,” said Landgraf. “This show will introduce two distinctive and truly great characters to American audiences in Sonya North and Marco Ruiz, an American and a Mexican cop whose shotgun partnership leads them on a vast, complicated personal and professional journey.  We believe setting this series in the U.S. and Mexican border cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez will make the American adaptation both riveting and relevant.   We are proud to partner with Shine America on what we believe will be a truly great television series.”

Stiehm and Reid worked together as Executive Producers of the CBS hit Cold Case, which Stiehm created. They are Executive Producers of The Bridge, alongside Executive Producers Carolyn Bernstein, Lars Blomgren, and Jane Featherstone.  The Bridge is co-produced by Shine America and FX Productions.  Production of the Pilot episode of The Bridge begins this fall.

"The Bridge started as a successful drama series produced by our sister company in Sweden and it has since enjoyed tremendous success around the world,” says Carolyn Bernstein, Shine America’s Executive Vice President of Scripted Programming. “We are thrilled to be developing it with FX, whom we consider the ideal partner to bring this ground-breaking series to an American audience. Meredith and Elwood have written a captivating pilot script that is respectful to the DNA of the original series, but takes it in a bold new direction."

Originally debuting Sweden in September 2011, Bron centers on a murder investigation following the discovery of a body on the Öresund bridge between Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmö, Sweden where a detective from each country has to work together to solve the mystery.

The series was originally created by Hans Rosenfeldt, Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein and is a Filmlance and Nimbus Film Production.

Lars Blomgren is Executive Producer, Anders Landstrom and Bo Ehrhardt producers. The Bridge has now been sold in 55 territories including the UK where it is currently BBC4’s highest rated program of 2012.