NOLA show

Variety says:

What was shaping up to be a flood of post-Katrina TV dramas set in New Orleans -- some with high-profile talent such as Spike Lee and Gary Fleder attached -- has turned into a trickle, with just one of four planned projects moving forward.

Fox on Monday greenlit production on K-Ville, an hourlong cop show that focuses on the few police officers who stay put in the city following the hurricane. Jonathan Lisco (The District) wrote the pilot and will exec produce via 20th Century Fox Television.

K-Ville is the only one of four New Orleans-themed drama scripts ordered this development season that will move forward to the pilot stage this spring.

*snip*

Lisco said Fox Entertainment prexy Peter Liguori pitched him the idea of a New Orleans-set cop show last summer, after the net opted to not move forward with the Lisco-penned pilot Damages.

(The) scribe spent nearly two weeks in New Orleans doing research and said he wasn't prepared for the level of damage done to the city.

"What I want to do is tell stories that are redemptive in nature but also informed by the bleakness of what happened there," Lisco said.

K-Ville will be centered around two cops of different racial backgrounds who have very different takes on how New Orleans should be dealing with its problems post-Katrina.

Pilot will also explore the schisms between the cops who stayed on the job during the storm and those who abandoned their posts, only to rejoin the force. It will also tell stories about "the heroism of (ordinary) people in extraordinary situations.

"The NOPD has gotten a lot of flak for being brutal and corrupt," Lisco said. "But there are still really committed, honest cops trying to make a difference."

Full story here.

There are tons of ways this type of drama could be screwed up, obviously, and you'll hear the complaints from the NOPD and the local government, but all good shows are controversial in some way or another. This is an exciting idea that was only flirted with in FX's awesome Thief (before it was canceled and pushed as a miniseries). This could be great if it's done right -- if it explores the dynamics of the city's mindset while paying the tribute and respect that Thief did -- without outright exploiting the city.