DirecTV Greenlights Rogue, Thandie Newton Negotiating For Lead

DirecTV has given the greenlight to its first original scripted programming; the drama Rogue is moving forward, and the satellite TV company is looking to Thandie Newton to headline it. She’s in talks for the leading role in the series, which has a 10-episode order.

Deadline reports that the film actress is in negotiations to take on the lead role in Rogue as the mother of a child who is killed in a drive-by shooting. She happens to be an undercover cop who makes targeting the gangster involved a personal and off-the-record vendetta. Newton has been fielding plenty of pilot offers over the past few years but has yet to take on a regular series role. The closest she has come was a recurring role on ER.

Having stepped in to pick up and save from cancellation Friday Night Lights and Damages, DirecTV is now taking a big step in the direction of creating their own programming. With original programming coming from a number of unexpected sources recently including Netflix and Hulu, the challenge seems to be on for companies like DirecTV to step up and do the same. Rogue will be the first such attempt for DirecTV, and attaching much-pursued Thandie Newton to project would be a big coup for them. The actress has starred in films like The Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith and 2004 Best Picture winner Crash.

Unfortunately, the plot sounds a little formulaic, but good writing can certainly overcome that. Good casting can do even more. British writer/director Matthew Parkhill is handling the script, a relative unknown – but it might serve the series well.