Looks like the new cool thing for directors to try after a big success is dipping their toes in TV. Ang Lee is following up his Life Of Pi Oscar triumph with a pilot for the Homeland team, and Sam Raimi is swapping the big fantasy visuals of **Oz The Great And Powerful **for Sony TV’s legal dramedy show Rake.
Adapted from an Australian comedy drama series, Rake follows brilliant-but-batty criminal defence lawyer Keegan Joyce (Greg Kinnear), who is amazing at his job but terrible with people. He’s dedicated to justice and is surprisingly optimistic despite his rough outer shell. Yes, it sounds like it could be a little bit House-meets-Boston Legal..
The show – assuming it gets picked up – was created by Peter Duncan (who crafted the original), who worked on it alongside Peter Tolan (Rescue Me) and Michael Wimer. Miranda Otto, Necar Zadegan, John Ortiz, David Harbour and Ian Colletti are also on board to star.
Of course, while this marks the first time he’s directed a pilot, Raimi is a veteran of the small screen, having written, produced or overseen all manner of shows from American Gothic to M.A.N.T.I.S. and, possibly most famously, Hercules: The Legendary Journey and Xena: Warrior Princess. For more Raimi goodness, check out our Podcast interview with the director and** Oz**'s Zach Braff below.