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'Las Vegas' Creator Drives 'Knight Rider'!

Post by: Sal


Source: Zap2It


The new "Knight Rider," which will officially join NBC's roster Wednesday afternoon, has found a showrunner to take the wheel of the series.

"Las Vegas" creator Gary Scott Thompson has joined the show as an executive producer and will oversee the show's writers and day-to-day production. Another "Vegas" alum, Matt Pyken, has also joined the show, the showbiz trade papers report.

"Knight Rider" is one of a handful of new shows NBC is expected to add to its lineup as it presents a tentative 2008-09 schedule Wednesday. The show, a sequel to the 1980s series that stars Justin Bruening ("All My Children") and Deanna Russo, debuted to solid ratings as a two-hour movie in February, drawing close to 13 million viewers.

Thompson, who's also signed a new deal with "Knight Rider" producer Universal Media Studios, is coming off the post-strike cancellation of "Las Vegas," which ran for five seasons on NBC. The two shows will likely be similar in tone, blending drama and action with a dose of humor.

Thompson also knows his way around cars, or at least writing about them: He penned the script for "The Fast and the Furious."

Doug Liman ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith") and Dave Bartis ("The O.C.") are also executive producers of "Knight Rider," and Dave Andron, who wrote the movie/pilot, will be a consulting producer.



Take care,

Sal