NBC Chairman Reveals Why Network Passed on ‘Bad Boys’ Spinoff ‘LA’s Finest’

NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt has revealed why the network passed on LA’s Finest, a proposed spinoff of the Bad Boys film franchise.

The show, which starred Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, was expected to be picked up by the network, but they passed on it at the last minute.

According to Greenblatt, the show simply did not fit with NBC‘s content schedule for the next year.

“These are all tough calls,” Greenblatt said during a conference call on Sunday. “We did have an embarrassment of riches. And when we laid out the schedule and the calendar all season… it was a show that didn’t fit in the grand scheme of it.”

Producers are said to be shopping the show to other networks, but no one has picked it up yet.

LA’s Finest was slated to center on Special Agent Sydney “Syd” Burnett, Union’s character in Bad Boys II. Her character would joining the LAPD as a detective after years at the DEA. She would clash with Nancy McKenna (Jessica Alba), a working mom who has a totally different lifestyle. They would be opposites but would soon work together to crack cases.

Ryan McPartlin was slated to co-star as Nancy’s husband, a successful ER trauma doctor named Dr. Patrick McKenna. Zach McGowan was cast in a villain role, but it unclear if it was planned to be recurring or just for the pilot.

Ernie Hudson, Zach Gilford and Duane Martin were also cast in the project.

The project is being spearheaded by the film’s original producer Jerry Bruckheimer, along with Doug Belgrad’s 2.0 Entertainment and Primary Wave Entertainment. Primary Wave is Union’s management company, and the potential spin-off was one of their first pitched projects since appointing former NBC Universal Exec Jeff Gaspin as president.

Alba and Union were both executive producers on the series. The Blacklist veterans Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier wrote the pilot.

Fans of the Bad Boys franchise were disappointed in the news, and characterized it as a bad move by NBC in a week full of big shakeups by networks.

“TV Networks have made some CRAZY decisions this week, from SyFy passing on Tremors starring Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward, to NBC passing on the Bad Boys spinoff LA’s Finest with Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, and FOX cancelling Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” onlooker Blake Elliott wrote. “Unexpected doesn’t cover it.”

Some fans are still holding out hope for the series due to its star power and tie-in branding.

“I still tend to think LA’s Finest will get on the air,” one supporter wrote. “Jerry Bruckheimer who is synonymous with huge ‘popcorn’ TV/Movies is behind it, and I tend to think that will be enough to get it a try on either a network or a non-traditional format.”

As for the film future of the Bad Boys franchise, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are set to reprise their roles for a third installment, coming to theaters January of 2020. Its planned title is Bad Boys for Life.