ABC has ordered pilot for contemporary reboot of the 1990’s Dick Wolf cop drama series, New York Undercover. According to Deadline, the project hails from Wolf, Hand of God creator Ben Watkins and director Anthony Hemingway. Written by Watkins based on a story by Wolf and him, New York Undercover will pick up 20 years after the end of the original series that changed the face of TV cop dramas. It will follow detectives Nat Gilmore and Melissa Ortiz as they investigate the city’s most dangerous criminals from Harlem to Battery Park. The original series stars Malik Yoba and Luna Lauren Velez will reprise their roles.
Yoba and Velez’s return mirrors a similar move by another 2019 ABC pilot that reboots a 1990s New York cop drama in present day, NYPD Blue, which recruited original cast members Kim Delaney and Bill Brochtrup.
The original series, which aired for four seasons, starred Yoba and Michael DeLorenzo as undercover detectives, marking the first police drama on U.S. television to feature two people of color in starring roles. Velez joined in Season 2 and remained on the show until its end.
Wolf, Watkins and Hemingway executive produce with Wolf Films’ Arthur Forney and Peter Jankowski. The project is produced by Wolf Films, Universal TV — where the company is based — and ABC Studios. The pilot will begin filming in early March in New York.
Source: Deadline