Fox has announced their schedule for the upcoming fall TV season and mid-season additions, revealing that we will have to wait until early 2017 to the see new series Shots Fired, a drama featuring a fictional North Carolina town in turmoil after a racially-charged shooting, filmed in Gastonia, North Carolina and the Charlotte region.
In the official announcement released today, Fox has set Shots Fired for a “spring” 2017 premiere in the 8-9pm time slot on Wednesday nights, following the fall debut of Lethal Weapon in the same time slot.
We also have an updated synopsis including new details of the show, which you can read in full below, and a first look at the official logo!
Examining the dangerous aftermath of racially charged shootings in a small Southern town, SHOTS FIRED is a dramatic new event series that is a “why done it?” and a “who done it?”
From Gina Prince-Bythewood (Beyond the Lights, The Secret Life of Bees, Love & Basketball) and Reggie Rock Bythewood (Beyond the Lights, Notorious), the 10-hour event series is an explosive look at the criminal justice system.
When an African-American police officer kills an unarmed white college student, a small town in North Carolina is turned upside-down. Before the town has a chance to grapple with this tragedy, the neglected murder of an African-American teen is brought to light, re-opening wounds that threaten to tear the town apart.
Leading the Department of Justice’s inquiry into these shootings is seasoned investigator ASHE AKINO (Sanaa Lathan, The Perfect Guy) and a young Special Prosecutor, PRESTON TERRY (Stephan James, Race, Selma), both of whom are African-American.
As they start to pull back the layers of both cases, they suspect a cover-up that may involve some of the state’s most powerful people, including fiercely political North Carolina Governor PATRICIA EAMONS (Academy-, Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress Helen Hunt, “As Good As It Gets,” “The Sessions”). She’s in a tough re-election fight, and the recent shootings in her state are making it even tougher.
Meanwhile, real estate mogul and owner of a privatized prison ARLEN COX (Academy- and Golden Globe Award-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss, The Goodbye Girl, Jaws, Madoff), is pulled into the case, as LT. ERIC BREELAND (Stephen Moyer, The Bastard Executioner, True Blood), a seasoned veteran in the town’s Sheriff’s Department, gets caught in the middle of the investigation. SHOTS FIRED tackles the racial divide from all perspectives.
As Ashe and Preston navigate the media attention, public debate and social unrest that come with such volatile cases, they learn that everybody has a story, and that the truth is rarely black and white.
PRODUCTION COMPANIES: 20th Century Fox Television, Imagine Television, Undisputed Cinema
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Gina Prince-Bythewood, Reggie Rock Bythewood, Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo
WRITERS/CREATORS: Gina Prince-Bythewood, Reggie Rock Bythewood
DIRECTOR: Gina Prince-Bythewood
CAST: Sanaa Lathan as Ashe Akino, Stephan James as Preston Terry, Helen Hunt as Governor Patricia Eamons, Richard Dreyfuss as Arlen Cox, Stephen Moyer as Lt. Eric Breeland, Tristan Wilds as Dep. Joshua Belk, Aisha Hinds as Pastor Janae James, Will Patton as Sheriff Daniel Platt, Conor Leslie as Sarah Ellis, Clare-Hope Ashitey as Kerry Belk, DeWanda Wise as Shameeka Campbell.
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