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FOX picks up Rake as full series

It's official. Rake will be a primetime series on FOX, starring Greg Kinnear.

2013-05-09_1122It’s official.

The US adaptation of Rake with Greg Kinnear has just won the go-ahead from FOX to proceed from Pilot to Series.

FOX has announced four new dramas being Rake, Gang Related starring Ramon Rodriguez, Sleepy Hollow, and Almost Human, from the Fringe duo of J.H. Wyman and J.J Abrams.

The signs were always good for Rake with Greg Kinnear and director Sam Raimi on the pilot.

In the US version Kinnear plays ‘Keegan Deane’, based on Richard Roxburgh’s ‘Cleaver Greene.’

Just like the ABC1 version he is described as “one of life’s great addicts, a brilliant and frustratingly charming criminal defense attorney, whose chaotic and self-destructive personal life often gets in the way of his professional one. He takes on the cases that nobody else will touch, ruled by a resolute optimism, belief in justice and dogged determination to defend those who seem beyond redemption – much like himself.”

The cast also includes Australia’s Miranda Otto and Bojana Novakovic plus John Ortiz, Necar Zadegan, Tara Summers, David Harbour (guest star) and Ian Colletti.

The US version is produced by Fedora Entertainment and Australia’s Essential Media & Entertainment Pty Ltd., in association with Sony Pictures Television.

It is executive produced by Peter Tolan and creator/executive producer Peter Duncan, Michael Wimer, Richard Roxburgh and Ian Collie. Kinnear and Leslie Tolan are co-executive producers.

The show is tipped for a midseason launch, much like The Following from FOX this season.

Today Essential Media and Entertainment announced the appointment of Simonne Overend as Vice President of Drama Development in their Los Angeles office, to establish a full drama slate for the US market.

Prior to joining Essential, Overend held roles in film and television development, production and distribution in Australia, Singapore and Europe. She has worked for a range of companies, including RGM Artist Group, ABC, BBC4, Disney, Roadshow, Film Victoria and United International Pictures.

Rake joins recent Australian shows Wilfred and Kath and Kim in having primetime US adaptations.

Source: Deadline, Hollywood Reporter

11 Responses

  1. I’m more interested in the comedies FOX picked up, mostly the Gavin & Stacey remake ‘US & Them’ staring Jason Ritter, Alexis Bledel and Jane Kaczmarek.

    Yes Jason Ritter has moved from one Gilmore Girl (Lauren Graham) in Parenthood to her TV daughter Alexis Bledel.

    Hope it works!

  2. I see Boston Legal’s Tara Summers is in this, perhaps they should get the entire cost of Boston Legal to do cameos, cause Rake is just like Alan Shore minus the addiction.

  3. Lets hope they don’t screw it up. Hope we get it here too, be curious to see it. Is Rake coming back, haven’t heard if it got renewed or not.

  4. A US version of Rake would work much better on premium cable, giving freedom to have more sex explicit scenes, than what free to air US TV allows.

  5. I’ll be interested to see what the US professionals do with the lead’s characterisation. No-one likes a character who gets to have his cake and eat it too, which is why the Australian version didn’t take off.

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