CBS orders pilots for a MacGyver reboot and a young Dr. Phil drama
Your eyes do not deceive you. Variety reports that CBS has ordered pilots for two potential new series, the first a reboot of the 1980s hit MacGyver and the other titled Bull, to be based on the early life of talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw.
Playwright Paul Downs Colaizzo has penned the script for the MacGyver reboot pilot, which sees the show’s original executive producer Henry Winkler set to return as EP with Michael Clear. Director James Wan (Saw, Furious 7, Aquaman) is attached to direct the pilot and will executive produce. The original series ran from 1985 to 1992 for a total of 139 episodes with two made-for-TV movies that followed.
Bull is based on the early career of Dr. Phil McGraw when he helped run Courtroom Sciences, Inc., a civil and criminal trial consultation firm that specializes in deposition services, records retrieval and trial and settlement sciences. The series finale will presumable see him make his first appearance on Oprah. McGraw actually co-wrote the script for the pilot with Paul Attanasio.
McGraw and Paul Attanasio (House M.D., Homicide: Life on the Street) will executive produce along with Amblin Television’s Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank. McGraw’s son Jay McGraw will also serve as a producer.
