‘Alcatraz’ Adds Jonny Coyne and Jason Butler Harner to Cast

Casting for J.J. Abrams’ latest TV pilot is accelerating. After scoring Lost veteran Jorge Garcia last week and Sarah Jones just yesterday, Jonny Coyne and  Jason Butler Harner (pictured above) are the latest to join the cast of sci-fi-mystery show, Alcatraz.

Both actors have previous  experience on Abrams-headed TV projects. Coyne was recently seen on NBC’s Undercovers, and has previously had bit parts on the BBC’s Merlin and the 2003 Tomb Raider sequel. Harner had a one-episode part on Fringe in 2009 and a small role in Clint Eastwood’s well-received Changeling the year before that.

Both actors have made the rounds in one-off roles on network and cable TV for the last decade. The two are the first time travelers to be cast (assuming that’s the series’ premise) taking the roles of the lead warden and assistant warden, respectively.

Time travel would seem to be on tap; it would take some impressive writing by co-executive producer Elizabeth Sarnoff for anything different. The show focuses on a group of felons and staff from the world-famous prison who disappear sometime before its closing almost fifty years ago, only to re-appear in modern times. Jones and Garcia have been cast as members of the FBI team assigned to track down the displaced convicts.

Since both Coyne and Harner are taking lead roles, it’s safe to assume that the former prison executives are helping the FBI in their task. Having two time-warped cast members should give the show some original dialogue, not to mention nostalgia-inducing social commentary – think Captain America or a more contemporary version of the one-liners from Back to the Future. Speaking of Changeling, the changes made in the prison systems – and indeed, what you can (and can’t) get away with in society in general – would be ripe for some quality writing.

Filming for the first episode of Alcatraz will begin in January in San Francisco (presumably on location) and Vancouver. Fox has picked up the pilot, but the rest of the series has yet to be optioned. No time frame has been giver for when – or if – audiences can actually see the show, but with Abrams’ powerhouse production company Bad Robot at the helm, it’s a safe bet on late 2011 or early 2012. Here’s hoping it does better than fellow Fox sci-fi show Fringe, which has been struggling lately.

Screen Rant will cover Alcatraz as it nears its pilot, and hopefully, first season.

Source: Deadline Hollywood

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‘Lost’ Star Jorge Garcia Joins J.J. Abrams Fox Pilot ‘Alcatraz’

After six years of battling time paradoxes on Lost, it appears that Jorge Garcia still can’t get enough of that island life, as it has just been announced that he will be returning to television in J.J. Abrams’ new pilot on Fox, entitled  Alcatraz.

When we first reported on Abrams shopping around Alcatraz with fellow Lost executive producer Elizabeth Sarnoff, nothing was revealed about the project or what fans could expect. Now, we know that the series will center on a group of Alcatraz prisoners and guards who went missing thirty years ago, only to mysteriously reappear in the present day.

Described as a show “about secrets and the most infamous prison of all time,” Alcatraz will follow a team of FBI agents who are assigned the task of tracking down these time traveling characters, while simultaneously trying to figure out the mystery behind their disappearance all those years ago.

In the series, Garcia will play Dr. Diego Soto, the world’s foremost expert on Alcatraz, who is described as a “hippy geek.” This marks the first casting announcement for Alcatraz, after the news that Fox picked up the pilot two months ago.

Coincidentally, as Garcia was the first actor to be cast on Lost, he was also the first actor cast in Alcatraz. Although, this time, there was no need for an audition, as the role of Dr. Diego Soto was written specifically with Garcia in mind and he was the only actor they were going to approach for the role.

As usual, Abrams’ name is attached to a series to help promotion, but it is actually former Lost executive producer Elizabeth Sarnoff who wrote the final script for Alcatraz, following an earlier incarnation from former Kyle XY writers Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt. During production, Sarnoff will serve as showrunner and will be executive producing it with Abrams, Lilen, Wynbrandt and Bryan Burk.

With Alcatraz sounding like it could be an episode of Fringe, one has to wonder what plans Fox has for the series if it gets picked up. With the aforementioned Fringe finally bringing its story together, the ratings haven’t exactly reflected the new-found focus and the series is still considered a bubble show for the network.

So, the question has to be asked: Is there room for two fantastical shows on Fox or will it come down to a decision of one over the other? And, if that question does get asked, which show will make the cut?

Hopefully, in the case, we’ll be able to have our cake and eat it too.

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Source: Deadline

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