MUMBAI: Shawn Ryan took to his Twitter page on Friday to announce that efforts to shop the pilot, which CBS passed on in May, have not been successful.
"Sad to report that efforts to land Beverly Hills Cop pilot at another network have failed. This iteration is dead for now," he wrote. "Good news for fans of franchise is that the pilot tested so well, it has caused Paramount to put another #BHC movie into development."
Additional details were not yet available about a potential Paramount movie.
He added that he "loved" working with stars Brandon T. Jackson, who played Axel Foley‘s (Eddie Murphy) son, and the rest of the cast, including Kevin Pollak, David Denman and Christine Lahti, among others.
CBS passed on the update, which would have followed Jackson‘s cop as he made a name for himself with the Beverly Hills Police Department.
The drama was considered a sure thing to land on CBS‘ schedule as the Sony Pictures Television entry came with built-in brand recognition and a top producer attached in The Shield‘s Ryan. Despite the wattage of the talent involved, CBS passed. Sony and Paramount then shopped the project to other networks.
CBS‘ decision is a blow to Paramount‘s effort to get back into television production. The studio has been out of that business since Paramount was split from CBS in 2005. Beverly Hills Cop was a logical starting point since it has been a successful movie franchise for Paramount for a decade starting in 1984. Paramount CEO Brad Grey announced in March that Paramount would partner with Sony Pictures Television to produce an existing pilot and potential series. The same day, Philippe Dauman, CEO of parent company Viacom, noted he would "get back, with very little investment, into the television production business."
