While there’s no doubting the high level of importance tied to the Earth’s water and the blood flowing in our bodies, it’s hard to deny that one of the greatest liquids on this planet is bourbon. So it makes perfect sense to me that it should be the subject of its own TV show, and Fox is currently gearing up on creating just such a thing, currently going by the name Untitled Kentucky Bourbon Project, which just became the frontrunner for a name if I ever have a third kid.
Still in the very early days of development at Fox, Untitled Kentucky Bourbon Project isn’t going to be about people getting shitfaced all the time, nor anything in the vein of Bar Rescue and the like. It’s being conceived as a one-hour drama about a family’s bourbon empire. According to Deadline, the plot will center on the patriarch, who has a public breakdown that forces his children to come together and get past their differences in order to save the business and the family. And apparently big poppa has a particularly dark past that will complicate things, because of course he does. I’m betting it involves doing something terrible while under the influence of alcohol. Call it a drunk hunch.
Untitled Kentucky Bourbon Project, a name I’m apparently going to mention as often as possible, will come from New Wave Entertainment, known mostly for stand-up comedy specials from people like Dennis Miller and Aziz Ansari. Bruce Romans, a writer and producer on shows such as Hell on Wheels and Falling Skies, is the main guy involved, and he’ll be the one writing the pilot’s script and serving as executive producer.
I’d love if the show’s aesthetic and style matched that of Hell on Wheels, or that other Kentucky-based series, Justified, which is one of my favorite shows of all time. And if it has a family dynamic that matches up with the quasi-mysteries guiding Netflix’s Bloodline, that could make for an instant classic. Of course, it’s Fox, so there would presumably be something more flash and Empire-ish happening, but even a hyper-soapy approach wouldn’t be so bad.
If you’re looking for a little background into what the bourbon business is like, and what Romans will possibly be using as source material for the basics of the project, check out this video about Wild Turkey’s Master Distiller Jimmy Russell, a legend in the business.
Hopefully we’ll hear something soon about Untitled Kentucky Bourbon Project, preferably news that is neat over an on-the-rocks announcement. Drink up.
