NBC has greenlit a pilot for a medical drama from writer-producer Jason Katims, longtime showrunner of both “Friday Night Lights” and the network’s current incarnation of “Parenthood.”
Jason Ritter, a grandson of the great singing movie star Tex Ritter, a regular on last year's “The Event” and a recurring player on “Parenthood,” will star in “County,” which looks at the operation of an “underfunded and morally compromising” Los Angeles hospital.
The name “County” brings to mind “ER,” which was set at Chicago’s fictitious County General Hospital.
Since the 2009 cancellation of “ER,” NBC’s Thrusday 10 p.m. slot (home between 1981 and 2009 to huge hits “Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law” and “ER”) has served as home to a long line of duds: “The Jay Leno Show,” “The Marriage Ref,” “Southland,” “Outsourced,” the last celebrity-free version of “The Apprentice,” “Prime Suspect” and now “The Firm.”
Prior to his work with NBC, Katims created ABC's excellent "Relativity" and The WB's equally excllent TV version of "Roswell."
Find Deadline’s story on "County" here.
