‘Ironside’ Remake Ordered To Series By NBC

The Ironside remake has been picked up with a series order from NBC, according to a Friday article on The Hollywood Reporter.

According to the website, the role originally played by Perry Mason‘s Raymond Burr has gone to Blair Underwood (The New Adventures of Old Christine, L.A. Law, and narrator for Secret Millionaire).

For those unfamiliar with the original series, it centered on a detective, who is gunned down and confined to a wheelchair. The disability, however, does not get in the way of him solving crimes. If anything, it makes him more determined.

Underwood will be joined by a cast that includes Spencer Grammar (Greek star and daughter of Mr. Frasier Crane himself, Kelsey Grammar), Brent Sexton (The Killing), Pablo Schreiber (Lights Out), Kenneth Choi, and Neal Bledsoe.

Not sure who’s who beyond Underwood, but the new log line states that Ironside will be “pushing” and “prodding” a hand-picked team of investigators in solving the city’s most challenging cases, so it’s entirely possible every one of those supporting cast members mentioned could be sporting a badge.

The bigger story, however, is the creativity behind the camera.

Michael Caleo from Rescue Me and The Sopranos will serve as a writer and executive producer, and he’ll be helped along by EP David Semel of No Ordinary Family.

Teri Weinberg (Ugly Betty), John Davis, Jon Fox, and Ron West will round out the development team.

Here’s a brief look at the original:

http://youtu.be/2o0fdfqWYxo

TV shows remaking other TV shows is certainly nothing new, and an Ironside remake could be updated successfully. But there is a danger in alienating old fans by pushing too hard to a younger demographic.

The Atlantic recently looked at a number of shows — some successful, some not-so-much — that attempted to breathe new life into old concepts. The findings: for every Hawaii Five-0, there’s a 90210 that doesn’t work out.

But crime shows appear to be an easier update, so here’s hoping the Ironside remake lands. Will you be watching, and were you a fan of the original?