'Starsky & Hutch' Reboot With Major Change in the Works

Fox is developing a Starsky & Hutch remake series, but with one major change. The new series will feature two female lead characters. The original Starsky & Hutch series aired on ABC for four seasons, from 1975 to 1979.

The series is in development under Fox's script-to-series process, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn told THR that writers Sam Sklaver (Prodigal Son) and Elizabeth Peterson (The Resident) are working on two scripts, which they will present to him before he makes a decision on the project's future. They will serve as co-showrunners. Sony Pictures Television and Fox Entertainment will produce the series. The original show was produced by Sony Pictures' predecessor, Columbia Pictures Television.

In the new take on Starsky & Hutch, the lead characters are detectives Sasha Starsky and Nicole Hutchinson. They work on crimes in Desert City while remaining friends. Their fathers were sent to prison 15 years ago for a crime they didn't commit, so Sasha and Nicole also try to solve the mystery to prove their innocence.

The original series was created by William Blinn and starred Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul as Southern California detectives David Starsky and Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson, respectively. Antonio Fargas starred as the informant huggy Bear, while Bernie Hamilton played Captain Harold C. Dobey. The series also featured Starsky and Hutch's iconic two-door Ford Gran Torino, with its red paint and large white stripes on each side. Starsky & Hutch inspired a 2003 video game and a 2004 movie starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and Snoop Dogg. All four seasons are streaming on Amazon's Prime Video.

Fox has several other projects in the works. The network is also developing a medical drama simply titled Doc from Magnum P.I.'s Barbie Kligman, who serves as the showrunner. Doc centers on a doctor who loses eight years of her memory after an accident and is based on an Italian series.

Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry is also developing Jenny Is A Weapon with Fox. The project focuses on a Maryland housewife who learns she has psychic powers just as her marriage is falling apart. She is recruited by the government to solve cases while there is chaos at home. Peterson is a member of the Jenny writers' room. Cherry is writing the pilot with Joshua Michael Stern, while Ryan McPartlin and Travis Lively share story credit.