David E. Kelley is an eleven-time Emmy winner with a track record that includes Big Little Lies, The Undoing, Ally McBeal, The Practice, and Nine Perfect Strangers. When he’s got a new show in the works, it would be smart of any network or streamer to instantly jump at it. And that’s exactly what ABC has done.
The network won a reportedly heated bidding war and has given a straight to series order to Kelley’s new mystery thriller series, Avalon. The show is based on a short story by best-selling author Michael Connelly, who previously wrote novels that have inspired Amazon’s long-running series Bosch and the 2002 Clint Eastwood thriller, Blood Work.
The story will revolve around a Los Angeles detective who possibly stumbles upon a career-defining mystery in the city of Avalon in Catalina Island — a place that welcomes over a million tourists every year. This discovery will change everything she knows about herself and the island.
Kelley will write at least the first episode of the series. This marks a reunion for him and Connelly’s work, as the duo are already collaborating on a TV version of his novel The Lincoln Lawyer, which was previously adapted into a 2011 film starring Matthew McConaughey.
Craig Erwich, president at Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment, said in a statement:
“David E. Kelley is one of the great storytellers of our time and we are excited to continue our successful relationship with him on what we believe will be his next epic series on ABC. Michael Connelly‘s short story is ripe with mystery and intrigue, and we can’t wait for David and Michael to bring this eerie and captivating world to life.”
There’s no cast details yet, nor a specific release date, although we do know the show will join the 2022-2023 ABC programming slate. We’ll wait and see whether Avalon can match some of Kelley’s previously successful shows, and whether a twelfth Emmy win is in play.
#Peace.Love.Avalon
