Less than a month after Billy The Kid ended after three seasons, MGM+ has ordered a new western series.
The streamer and linear network has greenlit a series adaptation of The Magnificent Seven from Heroes creator Tim Kring.
Related Stories
The Magnificent Seven, the 1960 film from director John Sturges, was one of a number of MGM/United Artists movie titles that Jeff Bezos’ company had targeted for development after Amazon acquired the James Bond studio.
It is, however, a different take on the title than the one that was previously in the works from True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto.
The eight-part drama series will be written by Kring, who also created Fox’s Touch. He exec produces with Billy The Kid exec producer Donald De Line, Lawrence Mirisch and Bruce Kaufman. It will be produced by MGM+ Studios and MGM Television Studios and is set to start production in June.
Watch on Deadline
The Magnificent Seven will air on MGM+ in the U.S., UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Chile.
The reboot is set in the tumultuous 1880s American frontier. After a peaceful Quaker village is massacred by mercenaries working for a greedy and ruthless land baron trying to force them off the land he covets, seven gifted but flawed mercenaries are hired by the community to protect them from the land baron’s hired guns. But as the team embeds itself in the community, preparing to defend them against overwhelming odds, they are all forced to grapple with an essential question: is the use of violence acceptable to defend a people whose faith is based on non-violence? The series takes a deep dive into the stories behind each of the Seven; what’s at stake for them, and why they choose to take on this mission.
“Tim Kring is a master storyteller,” said Michael Wright, head of MGM+. “Tim, Donald De Line, Larry Mirisch, and Bruce Kaufman have crafted a series that delivers the energy of a classic western, honors the legacy of the original film, and reasserts its timeless themes of the power of unity against oppression and flawed heroes finding redemption by helping those who can’t help themselves.”
Please tell me they are not going to make this another tvma rated series. It ruins the genre. It also makes it unwatchable for Christians who most of us shy away from the graphic storytelling of the MA rating.