NBC Develops Gender-Swapped Gatsby Police Procedural — SkimNews
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- NBC is developing "Gatsby," a modern-day police procedural from writer/EPs Jake Coburn and Jason Tracey, produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
- Gatsby centers on Det. Jay Gatsby, described as a "devilishly charming investigator with a con-man's gift for reading human behavior," alongside decorated New York State Police Det. Nicole "Nicky" Carraway, who was born to be a cop but dreams of becoming a writer.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel follows narrator Nick Carraway moving to West Egg and trying to rekindle a romance with his cousin Daisy Buchanan; the series' gender-swapped Nicky is Nick's detective counterpart.
- Jake Coburn co-showran and executive produced NBC's The Hunting Party, which ran for two seasons, after co-creating The Endgame; earlier credits include Barbarians, Biohackers, Quantico, Gossip Girl, Arrow and Dynasty, and he has published two award-winning teen novels.
- Jason Tracey most recently executive produced ABC's RJ Decker and previously created and showran CBS's CSI: Vegas under an overall deal with Jerry Bruckheimer; he executive produced Elementary for all seven seasons and produced CBS pilot Alive starring Ryan Phillippe.
- Herbert Brenon directed the first screen adaptation in 1926; later versions include Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 Paramount film with Robert Redford, Bruce Dern and Mia Farrow, and Baz Luhrmann's 2013 Warner Bros. take with Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan.
Why it matters: The concept is the easy sell, but the hiring is the substance: Tracey created CSI: Vegas and shepherded Elementary for all seven seasons, while Coburn co-showran NBC's own The Hunting Party for two. Two proven procedural builders make the gender swap an execution question, not a rights question.
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