Scott Bakula is mounting a return to CBS, partnering with Dean Devlin’s Electric Entertainment and screenwriter Michael Sussman on an untitled, high-concept detective procedural. Currently in script development, the Los Angeles-based project positions the five-time Emmy nominee as both executive producer and lead actor, five years after concluding his seven-season run as Special Agent Dwayne Pride on NCIS: New Orleans.
Packaging Economics and Talent-Driven Development
In broadcast television, network procedural slates rely on established marquee talent to de-risk development cycles. Bakula brings institutional viability built over multiple decades and broadcast eras, including runs on NBC’s Quantum Leap, UPN’s Star Trek: Enterprise, and CBS’s flagship NCIS franchise. Packaging Bakula as star and executive producer secures his direct operational oversight over tone, character architecture, and episodic direction from the script stage.
Assembled by CAA, Anonymous Content, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, the package leverages long-standing agency and legal structures to secure network real estate in an increasingly risk-averse broadcast marketplace.
Independent Studio Leverage in Network Ecosystems
The attachment of Dean Devlin’s Electric Entertainment injects an independent production model directly into CBS’s pipeline. Electric Entertainment has historically sustained a distinct financing and production footprint outside traditional conglomerate frameworks, delivering genre and procedural hours directly to domestic and international distributors.
For CBS, sourcing from a specialized independent entity provides production flexibility alongside internal studio output. For Electric Entertainment, placing a high-concept procedural with a legacy network expands its presence in prime-time broadcast grids geared toward syndication-friendly episodic runs.
Collaborative Lineage and Franchise Differentiation
The series is penned by Michael Sussman, co-creator of TNT’s Perception, who previously collaborated with Bakula on Star Trek: Enterprise. Reassembling familiar creative partners reduces early-stage development friction, streamlining tone calibration and narrative voice during the scripting process.
Early production details note that Bakula’s central character represents a calculated departure from Dwayne Pride. Rather than tapping into the naval crime ecosystem—where CBS recently expanded with the prequel NCIS: Origins, featuring Shea Buckner as a younger Pride—this project establishes an entirely separate narrative universe within Los Angeles.
The move aligns with Bakula’s broader career trajectory of alternating between procedural anchors and character-driven work, including TNT’s Men of a Certain Age, HBO’s Behind the Candelabra, and Netflix’s upcoming hockey drama The Sticks.
Pipeline Status and Broadcast Greenlight Realities
The project remains in active development, subject to script delivery and programmatic evaluation by CBS executives before securing a pilot or straight-to-series commitment. While familiar star-creator pairings expedite packaging, the drama must navigate standard network vetting, budget allocation metrics, and competitive scheduling grids before reaching production.
