You heard that correctly. The two meisters of hedonistic, blowy-uppy, grandstand spectacle are bringing cocaine into your home via that insidious delivery method – television. Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer have finally been given the greenlight by TNT for a pilot that’s set to explore the drug days of 70s Florida.
The series is being written by Masters Of Sex executive producer-creator Michelle Ashford, and is being described as a “serialized character drama that brings the audience into the captivating, wild and unpredictable world of the Florida drug trade in the 1970s.”
Currently being referred to as The Untitled Cocaine Project, it has been in gestation for some time. Back in 2008 Messrs Bay and Bruckheimer took the project to HBO after they were incited by the 2006 documentary Cocaine Cowboys – an investigation into the rising drug trafficking trade down in Florida, and the ripple effect on the surrounding areas. One of the first scripts around that time came from Ashford, who since went on to massive acclaim over at Showtime with Masters Of Sex. It’s unlikely she’ll take on showrunner duties now but she’ll be onboard with Bay and Bruckheimer to executive produce. All in all, it’s taken five years for the light to change – and now the project can start making headway.
The producers of Cocaine Cowboys, Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman have also joined the project as executive producers. Whether or not this means the Peter Berg-Mark Wahlberg feature adaptation of the doc that’s been stagnant at Paramount is still going ahead, remains to be seen. The prospect of a dirty, gritty Floridian caper from this pair is still a fun prospect.