“Transporter” to Get the Small-Screen Treatment

“Transporter” to Get the Small-Screen Treatment

Movie/Television News

By our guest blogger, Joe Oliveto

Jason Statham’s “Transporter” movies are inexplicably popular. Popular enough, in fact, that they may soon make the jump to the world of TV.

So says Deadline, which reports that EuraCorp, the production company of director Luc Besson, is developing a series based on the franchise. The first season has already secured financing and will be 12 episodes long. Production should begin in a few months, though it’s doubtful that Jason Statham will reprise his iconic role. It’s not like he needs the work, and at this point in his career, a move to television would be a pointless step in the wrong direction.

EuraCorp is also looking to turn “Taken” into a TV series, although it won’t move forward on that project until production on the sequel is in full swing. Why “Taken” needs a sequel, let alone a TV series, is anyone’s guess.

In fact, there doesn’t seem to be much potential for either of these shows. “The Transporter” and “Taken” are fun, no doubt, but the constant action and thrills they delivered work best on the big screen. It’s very rare for an action-oriented show to work out in the long run. “Alias” may have managed to stay fun for a few years, but let’s not forget “The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” which served as evidence that what works on the large-scale of a movie may not exactly work on TV.

On the other hand, if Besson and company can pull this off, we may just get a string of copycat series that provide viewers with weekly doses of action-packed excitement. It hasn’t been done consistently on TV before, but there’s a first time for everything, right?