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CBS has closed deals for The Rifleman, a drama project based on the 1958 Western series about a 1880s widower with a rapid-fire Winchester rifle living on a ranch with his son. Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island) and Patrick Lussier will write and Chris Columbus is set to direct the reboot, which, like the original, centers on Civil war hero, Lucas McCain, an unparalleled sharpshooter with a haunted past, who moves to the uncharted New Mexico territory to raise his son Mark. There, he joins forces with the Sheriff to protect his new town and become its unofficial guardian. CBS TV Studios and Carol Mendelsohn Prods. are producing. The 
original series, whose pilot aired on CBS as part of Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theater before the series had a five-season run on ABC, was created by Sam Peckinpah and starred Chuck Connors as McCain. It was produced by Jules V. Levy, Arthur Gardner and Arnold Laven’s Levy-Gardner-Laven Prods. The only surviving member of the trio, who met while serving together in Air Force’s First Motion Picture Unit during World War II, 101-year-old Arthur Gardner, is executive producing The Rifleman reboot with his 
son, Steven Gardner, and Jules Levy’s son Robert. Also executive producing are Kalogridis, Lussier, Columbus, Carol Mendelsohn and her Julie Weitz. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone director Columbus has a 3-for-1 deal with CBS, under which one of 3 projects he develops though CBS TV Studios and his 1492 Pictures is assured to go to pilot, which he will direct and executive produce. This marks the seventh sale for Carol Mendelsohn Prods. in the first full development cycle since Mendelsohn brought in Weitz as president of her CBS TV Studios-based production company. The deal for The Rifleman was brokered by WME and Dan Black. This is the latest period Western put in development at the broadcast networks this season. Fox has a Wyatt Earp Western penned by John Hlavin, NBC has an untitled Kerry Ehrin project set in the 1880s, ABC has Ron Moore’s Hangtown, set in the early 1900 and David Zabel’s Gunslinger. Additionally, TNT recently gave a pilot order to Bruce C. McKenna and Danny Cannon’s Gateway, set in the 1880s, and the AMC series Hell On Wheels just premiered to strong ratings. Here is the famous opening sequence and some stills from the original Black & White Rifleman series:
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Can we please stop the remakes/reboots/buying overseas shows & make something NOW SPELL IT WITH ME: O-R-I-G-I-N-A-L.
SERIOUSLY!
I yearn for the return of Westerns but only if it is O to the G.
Yes… F-U CBS… seriously… just get a writer to come up with a new western if that’s what you want. Why pay the premium for some dated crap that will be 99.9% reworked anyway. But won’t actually work because everyone will be treading carefully to “respect” the legacy… Blah…
The original was watered down from Sam Pekinpah’s vision of the story. Perhaps now The Rifleman can be made the way he intended.
Val: How do you know that? Is there a book out there of Peckinpah’s that can back your assertion up? What do you have that tells us Peckinpah wanted more? I’d seriously like to know.
FUCBS,
You say “respect” the legacy” like it is something nasty! What in the ruddy hell is wrong with you? It is shows like this that I grew up on and I see nothing wrong with the things they taught!
I live by these things and I feel sorry for you because you have nothing to live by at all and are a very sick person.
your so very right God bless the rifleman type series and i hope this project gets done
This was possibly the greatest 30 min show of the late 50′s and early 60′s. Lucas McCain was every young boy’s hero that appeared every week and stood up for the good and defeated the bad guys. If Steve McGarret can come back so can Lucas, in fact Lucas was better than Steve.
I am now 54 years old and this morning my daughter sent me this article and said “Dad, your dream came true”.
I look forward to this and the new Dallas.
As a business manager I have expressed this wish many times over the years, however all of my clients are too young to relate to the hours of enjoyment I had as a young boy.
The good old days were wonderful.
Lets just hope they dont butcher it and make it full of sexual innuendos and curse words. I wonder if they can keep it clean? I wont watch it if they dont keep it close to the original.
Hi, Margaret! In response to your earlier question about Sam Peckinpah, he did indeed back out of “The Rifleman” series after the first season. He had opted for a far-darker series, with much more graphic violence than was permitted by television censors of the time. If you need “in-your-face” proof, I suggest you watch the PBS series, “The Pioneers of Television,” and check out the episode entitled, “Westerns.” I just saw the episode, so this is all fresh in my mind, but I’d already known that Peckinpah didn’t like the limitations placed on TV by sensors. That’s why he opted to instead pursue films. The Sam Peckinpah film, “The Wild Bunch,” was the fruit of his labors, widely considered by film critics & historians as one of the most successful and most violent westerns of all time! I hope this answers your question. I’ve always loved “The Rifleman,” but there’s no way in hell that the on-screen chemistry between Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford can ever be magically recreated by new incarnations of their Lucas and Mark McCain characters. Impossible! Any new series might be an interesting attempt at recapturing lightning in a bottle, but will be similar in name only!
I agree with you totally. They will NEVER recapture the chemistry between Chuck;Johnny and Paul; the writing and direction were superb.
I do not watch the new Hawaii Five – 0, because the original was the best.
Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain wasn’t just a hero to every young boy – my mom had a major crush on him and I find him and william Shatner as Capt Kirk 2 of the greatest lead characters on any TV series.
Who can they possibly cast to play McCain? He has some HUGE boots to fill!
Hope this one makes it. Wild Wild West went nowhere. Kristoffer Polaha I thought would have made a great Jim West.
Hope the western is here to stay.
What great talent! Love this show!
This is Laeta’s payoff for selling out the WGA in the 2007-2008 writers strike.
It’s official Hollywood out of ideas
BTW you could see original on AMC TV on Saturday morning on ME TV network every night around 6pm est/pst
OMG Another remake, reboot or whatever u want to call it.
The Hawaii 50 remake is not even getting 10.5 million viewers in the spot where CSI Miami was getting 14 one year early. Was wrong with CBS? Are they going to make another huge expensive pilot and add guest stars week after week as they do with Hawaii to lure viewers?
didn’t they see the People’s Choice Awarss today? Hawaiiand its actors were ignored. People is tired of remakes.
Didjaknow Chuck Connors played for the Boston Celtics?
No, but did you know that he played baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers (one game in 1949) and the Chicago Cubs (66 games in 1951). He was also drafted by the Chicago Bears but never played with them.
Don’t forget the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs!
ABC also has another original Western called The Eye, as you reported on 10/20/11.
Ok, you’re all tired of remakes but this show was so sharp and plain and good, why not try remaking it? Just do it justice.
i hope this doesn’t pull her away from the talking dog show…I’d hate to see that diluted.
Love how I pitched a Western three years ago and the genre was considered dead. Sometimes I hate this town.
How could you have missed the announcement that “The Western” was revived with the movie ‘Cowboys and Aliens’?
The return of the western is one of the best things to happen in a long time. Now if they will just bring back the character of Paladin and Have Gun Will Travel!
Interesting that TV group figured out all the rights issues that supposedly plagued the original material. Very long list of film people have been trying to make the edgier version for years and always put off for random legal reasons. Good luck.
This show has already been declared an official No Fly Zone.
I loved the original, and I am curious to see how they will handle the reboot. However, they have to cast Josh Holloway for the lead in order for the show to have a shot at getting any decent demos.
The next time I’m pitching a show at CBS or any network, and some fool tells me they are passing because the above the line is too big– there are too many EP’s, I’ll remind them of this absurd group of mixed talent, having nothing to do with each other except being a WME package, coming together to reboot an irrelevant show. For those of you who withered on the vine with Julie Weitz as our incompetent agent, to see her selling shows must be maddening. How do mediocre people get this kind of agency support after the’ve failed?
Muse Watson would be an excellent choice for the part..he is excellent
I agree that Muse should be in it, but I think Johnny Crawford should play Lucas and Muse play the sheriff!!!! Now who to get to play Johnny’s old role of Mark !!!!!
I would be happy to see Muse Watson on the show–he’d be great in the sheriff’s role.
Muse’s gravelly voice – great fit for the sheriff!
I agree, there has got to be a role for Muse Watson in this re-pop. Might even stand a chance at making it more than a pilot.
Totally agree that Muse would make a great Micca.
My favorite western from the Golden Age. Stories are fast paced, tightly scripted and the relationshp between McCain and son is memorable. Cant wait to see the new version
I’m a huge fan of the original series.
The only problem I have with the re-making of “The Rifleman” is that Hollywood just can’t seem to make a good Western anymore, IMHO. They get all caught up in the “touchy-feely” metrosexual male, dealing with feelings of loneliness and heartbreak and fear. They would probably have subplots of Lucas struggling with alcoholism, adultery, the anguish of using his Rifle against another human being, post-traumatic stress syndrome from the Civil War, etc, etc. (Oh yes, I almost forgot: Hollywood would somehow work in the obligatory “racism” and “homosexual” subplots).
Frankly, I think Lucas would end up being emasculated by today’s Hollywood and the Rifle would be somewhat demonized.
In the original TV show, Lucas occasionally displayed his inner feelings and certain issues (e.g. his loneliness) were addressed, but overall Lucas was always strong and forthright. He was a “man’s man”, dealing with his demons, raising his son, reading his Bible, using lethal force when necessary, etc. But by today’s Hollywood, Lucas would not be allowed to be the classic manly cowboy because that would threaten the Hollywood agenda. This tough father-and-son story set in the Western era would be complicated and softened beyond recognition of what we all know and love about “The Rifleman”.
If that’s the case, well, thanks but no thanks.
On the other hand, if itis written in homage to the original series and directed in a Sam Peckinpah style, well I would love to see it! However, the reality is that if it is done in that fashion, today’s critics will absolutely hate it. The critics will criticize the gun violence, the moral message, and the portrayal of the traditional roles of men and women and children in the Old West. The critics and Hollywood would rather rewrite history by the barometer of today’s social conscience than to portray it realistically.
So I don’t see this project as being plausible. Although I love the series, I don’t think any Rifleman series made in today’s social climate would stand a chance. Sorry!
Knowing the Hollywood agenda, I wouldn’t be surprised if they wrote Mark be as a macho gay. The rifle would be demonized, they’ll be no reading verses of the bible before turning in for the night and Mark will be given some of the great zingers to blister dad Lucas.
… Coundn’t agree with you to a greater extent , although I’d add my personal opinion that due to a dirth of quality contemporary acting skill , a remake would at best only tread water for a season or two . I mean , CGs included , I can’t think of anyone capable of filling Connors or Crawford’s boots – literally .
Again “personally” (but I seriously doubt that I’m alone in my opinion) , I’m more than a tad tired of the now quintessential 20-some year old male , with two days worth of implied “T” beard-stubble , attempting to project his masculinity by drapping an arm ’round the waste of a “pretty young thing” with a Narcisstic Personality Disorder and half of the IQ necessary for MENSA membership , scoring a PR triumph at the expense of any genuine acting ability . Boone , Borgnine , Connors , Crawford , Holden , Marvin , Oats , Palance , and such – Yes ! As for my contemporarys … I’m still thinking .
… And that Winchester ? Demonized indeed – an understatement ! (And I wont even get started on THAT issue ; this vintage machine lacks the gigs even for an opening statement !
What’s the rationale of co-opting the “Rifleman” brand? Who is this designed to appeal to? *I* know and love the old show but that’s because I. am. ol-oh yeah it’s CBS. As you were.
Lol H50 is a remake but it’s winning it’s Monday slot easily against castle. But dumb to bring up CSI MIAMI which was a remake and rip off of Csi. Welcome to CBS.
I’d like to see Gunsmoke revived and done in sort of a Deadwood style. With a more adult relationship between Dillion and Miss Kitty. I loved The Rifleman also. Chuck Connors and Johnny Crawford were incredible.
How about Muse Watson (Mike Franks of NCIS) as the Rifleman?
I agree with putting Muse Watson in the new Rifleman! He’d be wonderful!
Episode 100 of “The Rifleman” was entitled, “Dark Day at Northfork.” The phrase is apt. No one who really loves this story wants this. What have they to gain in this production but to tinker with a classic and join the recent Western remake stampede that proved profitable with the most recent “True Grit”? We may well end up with a “reboot” like the remake of “Angel and the Bad Man.” Return to Peckinpah’s concept? Do we really want a Lucas named John and described as having a hair trigger temperment? Do we want a story depicting the slow disillusionment of a young boy coming of age, learning “how things are” without the undying strength of principled hope? During Rifleman’s run, public opinion ran against Lucas’ remarriage. The producers listened then. Sadly, I don’t think they’ll listen again. Reboot, indeed. Just try to fill the boots of Lucas McCain. It cannot be done.
I agree with Big Daddy. I don’t expect any remake to closely enough resemble all the important aspects of the original. I would rather see attempts at creating completely new western shows that still have the values of the older ones, although that’s probably not very likely either for the reason mentioned above. To me, remake just screams “lack of ideas” and hopes for cashing in a little more on an old original.