Network development execs seem anxious to get “Lost.”
Kevin Burns and Jon Jashni’s Synthesis Entertainment is teaming with helmer John Woo and scribe Doug Petrie on a new TV take of “Lost in Space” that’s generating heated interest from several webs.
Regency and 20th Century Fox TV will produce the skein with Fox TV Studios-based Synthesis and Woo’s Terence Chang-headed Lion Rock Prods.
Synthesis, a company formed by Burns and Jashni to bring new life to the creations of Irwin Allen, last revived “Lost” at NBC as a telepic; that project went away following the death of original “Space”-man Jonathan Harris.
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Multiple webs have been pitched the project by packaging agency Endeavor, and network insiders said there’s been strong response to the idea. New Line’s recent feature take on “Lost” opened well but ultimately fizzled.
New take on “Lost in Space” will return the show to its roots as a family drama, which is what Allen intended when he penned the original pilot.
“This is a drama about a family that survives an incredible cataclysm,” Burns said. ” ‘Lost in Space’ became a different show because of Jonathan Harris and his talent. That was fabulous, but what Doug did was go back to the show Irwin intended to make. Will there be aliens and monsters and robots (in the new show)? Absolutely. But that’s not what it’s about.”
Burns said the project will be set about 100 years in the future and will feature a relatable, contemporary family at its core.
The last Allen property to snag a pilot commitment was “Time Tunnel,” which didn’t go forward at Fox.
Synthesis is looking at reviving other Allen projects but plans to take its time with each concept.
“These are very important franchise properties,” Burns said. “We see Irwin Allen as a viable brand, not unlike Gene Roddenberry or Rod Serling. There are a lot of considerations when we bring one of these ideas to market. For us, it’s not just about being rights holders.”
In addition to running Synthesis, Burns heads nonfiction production shingle Prometheus Entertainment, while Jashni is prexy of Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment.
