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It is an upfront tradition that the network calls to producers to tell them that their pilots have been picked up are sometimes followed by calls to cast members of the ordered pilots to tell them that they won’t be continuing on the series. I hear that the first recasting on a newly ordered series this year is on NBC’s Prime Suspect, which was picked up Wednesday, the very first day of series pickups this year. Exiting the project is British actor Toby Stephens as his character will be rewritten. NBC’s remake of the British series Prime Suspect centers on Jane Timoney (Maria Bello), an iconoclastic female detective who has to make her bones in a tough New York precinct that is dominated by men. Stephens played Jane’s live-in boyfriend, who is fighting his ex-wife to allow their son to stay with him and Jane.
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This should not be news. A major actor who was the tent pole of the show? OK. (Chucky “winning” Sheen, yeah I get it) But are you really going to cover all 50 re-castings? This article places blame where maybe there should not be any. If the “Ringer” recasts to go younger for the C’dub will it be the same story? There’s enough news. Don’t create it.
That’s a shame about , Toby. He such a good actor and I’m surprised he took on such a supporting part, considering he’s played a Bond villain already in his career. His American accent must’ve been terrible to prompt his replacing, then.
It’s a shame indeed. He’s a talented actor and not the last name in the industry, so I’m really surprised they’re recasting his part.
He kept his British accent for the role (per NBC pilot preview clips). I’m quite disappointed we won’t be seeing him in the series.
NBC pilot clip with Stephens
He does have an excellent American accent (as anyone who has seen the British ‘Strike Back’ can attest).
Regardless, Stephens is a leading man of the London stage with a growing family–he’s occasionally played the U.S. pilot game with skill while continuing what he loves back home. If only every actor was so lucky.
It was a great show on BBC. NBC will dummy it for the american audience and ruin it
It was never on BBC. It was an ITV show…
…most of these things end up on BBC America, Hoppy, so you must excuse your US friends, what you means litte or nothing to most of them.
Jane Timoney? Timoney? They began screwing with the concept with the lead’s name. And so it begins….
Hope they’ve solved it this time. Previous PRIME SUSPECT scripts have missed the basic premise of the show, which is about the protagonist knowing who the bad guy is and fighting an apparently losing battle to nail him before turning it around. Hence the title. Previous scripts (they’re out there) have gone for a conventional last-act reveal.
The script is LAME. (I’ve read it.) And so is the show. Bad move on NBC’s part.
Are there really 50 re-castings during upfronts? Or rather, are 50 actors from various pilots replaced every pilot season?? Wow. Did not realize that.
@c’mon really?
You dont have to read it, guy.
Love Maria Bello. Hate the tough gal cop shows. Did NBC anything from the failure of Chase?
NBC. Will ruin it .they should have gotten someone like Helen .Bello hasn’t got much appeal
Sorry, apparently I’m a dork then because I want to know the recasting news. Some of us might have been pulling for certain shows based on cast…
disappointed because Toby Stephens is an excellent actor who deserves American showcase…maybe just not the right vehicle for him…and yes it IS news because his casting was a major press release and his fans are devastated.
Yes, I was stunned when I saw that Toby Stephens was not in the pilot. What a disappointment. This actor is brilliant in everything he undertakes and such an amazing catch for any network looking to attract intelligent viewers who value smart drama. Oh, well, back to K.Q.E.D. or C.B.S ( The Good Wife ) for quality drama and mysteries.
Too bad about Toby Stephens, a fabulous actor and the main reason I had planned to watch this.
Toby Stephens has played Americans many times on stage and on film. Whatever the reason for the recast I doubt it was because he couldn’t play a convincing American.
It happens. A lot of great actors get recast for various reasons. And I agree, there’s no reason to report recastings because we’ll meet the cast during the upfronts and see the series with the newer cast member, so why report it?
Typical “Network Executive Suit” decision. People with talent create a ‘pilot’ then people with no talent, re-do it and eff it up totally. No wonder TV is loosing viewers. Its not the ipad, its the crap that the network execs put on air.
I totally think this is news worthy and should be covered. A lot of us are interested in recastings and why they may have happened and what the network was possibly thinking.
Seconding that opinion as an actor it’s interesting to hear about recastings…especially someone with an incredibly strong list of credits…maybe he just didn’t click with where the show wanted to go.
I totally agree. Stop leaving creative decisions up to business people. It’s not always about the bottom line. Shows like Friends and Seinfeld would’ve never made it under this new business model.
As with many a classic British TV show that is remade or re-formated for America… well it somehow get’s lost in the translation. Even with the same British creator/producer on board. American TV even on cable,is still so censored and sanitized, coupled with political correctness… well it’s a lost cause thinking that the American masses can appreciate and support such British imports!
The original “Prime Suspect” was based on an autobiographical novel (or straight autobiography I can’t remember which. Sorry don’t have time to look it up) and hence had an air of verisimilitude. It was very instructive regarding a woman struggling in an all male world. It was ground-breaking in that sense.
The clip I saw of this American show was just another over-the-top tough female … which is getting to be a cliche, BTW. As for them recasting Toby Stephens … just an indicator that this is indeed a sub par TV series. He is such a great actor. I am actually glad he isn’t going to be in it. It would be like watching Laurence Olivier or Derek Jacobi in some cheesy TV series. I rarely watch anything on network TV. Some of the comedy shows are good. But I almost never like the drama. So good for you Toby Stephens. Glad you escaped this debacle
After watching the pilot clips, it struck me that the problem is Toby Stephens is in danger of stealing every scene. In the dinner sequence, they had to have him leave the table for Maria Bello to capture our attention.
I would have loved watching this show for Stephens’ sake. The other pilot clips seem pale and cliched without him.
Talk about classing up a joint.
I haven’t watched network television in years and was delighted to learn that Toby Stephens had been cast in “Prime Suspect”…Too bad NBC dropped Stephens. He was the ONLY reason that I’d marked my calendar to watch the premiere.
Strong female characters have large female audiences…They need handsome, confident (yet endearingly vulnerable) male partners to hold the female viewer’s attention beyond the first episode. Toby has ALL these qualities and MORE! (Check out his potrayal of Edward Rochester in the “Masterpiece Theatre” version of “Jane Eyre”…He was simply INCREDIBLE!)
The silver lining here for Toby Stephens is that when “Prime Suspect” tanks and it will…he won’t have it on his resume.
I often wondered about Toby being cast in this series. You could literally put ANY American actor in that part and he would melt into the wall as the new actor did in tonight’s episode. But put an experienced British theatre actor there, well, so much for Maria Bello! I watched it anyway tonight and well, BORING! This one won’t make it. I also wondered at casting Mr. Stephens in such a supporting role anyway. If Jane Eyre was any indication, whenever he’s on the screen, he has this inate ability to “take over!” Nah, put Mr. Stephens in an authoritative role – that’s where he shines!
I turned the show on tonight expecting to see Toby Stephens, who is a critically-acclaimed actor. No Toby Stephens.
What I did see was extremely mediocre. Now it’s just another cop show. I turned it off.
Too bad. It’s the show’s loss.