CBS is reviving a classic TV Western that first went on the air in the 1950s, part of a recent surge in Western-themed television projects, Deadline.com reports.
The classic 1958 Western "The Rifleman" will be the basis for the new drama project bought by CBS, with “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” director Chris Columbus set to direct, the story reports.
The original show, created by Sam Peckinpah and starring Chuck Connors, ran for five seasons on ABC and focused on an 1880s widower who lived with his son on a ranch and was handy with a Winchester rifle. Like the original, the reboot tracks Civil War hero Lucas McCain and is set in New Mexico territory, the story says.
CBS TV Studios and Carol Mendelsohn Productions are producing, while 101-year-old Arthur Gardner, one of the producers of the original show, will executive produce the reboot, the story says.
Other networks have also been drawn to Western projects lately, the story notes, with Fox developing a show about Wyatt Earp and NBC working on a project set in the 1880s. ABC is developing two Westerns, “Hangtown” and “Gunslinger,” and AMC recently premiered “Hell on Wheels.”
Weird. Last night I saw an episode of “The Rifleman” for the first time in 50 years…
I’m sure in the new version that Lucas will be a gay man who adopted a mulatto child, and never fires his rifle except to signal the start of the Breast Cancer Awareness Run-Walk.
Or when gunning down space alien invaders.
Whant to bring back a great western? Bring back “Firefly”. FOX could have been ahead of the curve if they would have given thet show a chance.
Gosh, you’re right JD. Boy the good old days when you could call anyone anything you wanted without fear that they would demand to be treated with respect. When you could disregard their common humanity, belittle them and their culture and go home and laugh about it.
Ya know, people just need to lighten up already! You can’t look at anyone sideways anymore without offending them. Some of the best comedy was made from observations of other cultures. Mel Brooks is a master of that. Look at Blazing Saddles, makes fun of everyone and it is damn funny! Now, you start picking on the British, well that’s another story…..