Justified Revival Will Bring Back Timothy Olyphant As Raylan Givens
It's an IP-driven world and we're just living in it, folks. If there's any established franchise that holds even the slightest potential of bringing eyeballs with news of a buzzy revival, you can bet that studios these days will find a way to do it. We just received a new "Matrix" sequel over a decade after the trilogy wrapped up conclusively, the fifth installment of the beloved "Scream" series is slashing its way into theaters today with positive reviews, and even "Dexter" found new life after a catastrophic series finale with "Dexter: New Blood." Now comes the news that Timothy Olyphant will be strapping on his pistol, spurs, and cowboy hat once more to reprise his role as Raylan Givens for a new limited series, continuing the story of "Justified." The popular FX show ran for six largely successful seasons, bringing us the throwback Western exploits of Olyphant's Deputy U.S. Marshal Givens and his increasingly fraught rivalry with outlaw Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins). Check out all the details below.
Justified Returns
Timothy Olyphant is coming back for another round in possibly his best-known role. Seven years after the conclusion to "Justified" (almost exactly to the day!), Sony Pictures Television and FX Productions have announced a new adaptation of the late prolific author Elmore Leonard's series of Western novels. His 1980 epic crime story, "City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit," will now be his latest work to receive the live action treatment as an FX limited series titled "Justified: City Primeval." In addition to bringing back Olyphant in the main leading role, Dave Andron and Michael Dinner are also returning after their work on the original series, this time serving as showrunners, writers, and executive producers. Dinner is slated to direct while other returnees include Graham Yost, Sarah Timberman, Peter Leonard, and Carl Beverly as executive producers. Taylor Elmore and Chris Provenzano are also credited writers in addition to executive producing.
Similarly based on an Elmore Leonard novella, the original Emmy-winning "Justified" ran from 2010-2015 and helped solidify Timothy Olyphant as a can't-miss screen presence on television. The plot of this new series is described as:
Having left the hollers of Kentucky eight years ago, Raylan Givens now lives in Miami, a walking anachronism balancing his life as a U.S. Marshal and part-time father of a 14-year-old girl. His hair is grayer, his hat is dirtier, and the road in front of him is suddenly a lot shorter than the road behind.
A chance encounter on a desolate Florida highway sends him to Detroit. There he crosses paths with Clement Mansell, aka The Oklahoma Wildman, a violent, sociopathic desperado who's already slipped through the fingers of Detroit's finest once and aims to do so again. Mansell's lawyer, formidable Motor City native Carolyn Wilder, has every intention of representing her client, even as she finds herself caught in between cop and criminal, with her own game afoot as well. These three characters set out on a collision course in classic Elmore Leonard fashion, to see who makes it out of the City Primeval alive.
Stay tuned for more details as they come in.