Knight Rider series officially a go
Well, here's hoping that the powers that be were reading TV Squad after the two-hour Knight Rider movie premiered last February. Then, at least they'll know how to fix the show, because NBC has picked up Knight Rider as a series for the 2008-2009 schedule, and it's going to need some re-tooling.That's the phrase they love to use in the business to describe all the work that's needed to turn a turkey -- albeit one with great ratings -- into a successful series. And Knight Rider, as conceived in that TV movie/back door pilot, needs some major work.
Justin Bruening, who was perfectly fine as Jamie Martin on All My Children, has to do more than just look good behind the wheel. This isn't Hamlet, granted, but he has to make the character intrinsically more appealing that just another pretty face.
According to Variety, NBC has decided to stock pile the new lineup -- which they're announcing on Wednesday before any other broadcast network -- with action and fantasy. They've been greenlighting pilots about Robinson Crusoe and Kings, and now the news that Doug Liman's Knight Rider is a definite and may be filling a Friday night timeslot. Well, since Las Vegas is gone, that's an opening although if KR remains as shallow as the TV movie, it may be deemed an eight o'clock show. Time -- and timeslots -- will tell.

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