CBS Commits To Lonesome Dove Prequel
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/14/2005 6:02:00 AM
CBS has put in an order for mini-series Comanche Moon from the team of writer Larry McMurtry and executive producer Diana Ossana that just raked in a bunch of (seven) Golden Globe nominations for theatrical Brokeback Mountain.
The mini will look at the earlier years--midlife, actually--of Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call as they pursue three outlaws.
The show may be worth a watch for the colorful character names alone, which include Buffalo Hump, Famous Shoes and Pea Eye Parker.
McMurtry won a Pulitzer for the novel Lonesome Dove, whose TV adaptation became one of the highest-rated and most critically acclaimed minis ever when it aired on CBS in 1989 starring Robert Duval and Tommy Lee Jones. It also spawned a sequel, Return to Lonesome Dove, and a short-lived syndicated TV series.
No casting yet, or official word on possible airdates, though in terms of the latter, November or February are pretty safe bets (the original aired in the 1989 February sweep). November 2006 is likely the earliest it could appear. Comanche Moon will be produced by Paramount Network Television, which is co-owned with CBS. McMurtry, Diana Ossana, Julie Yorn, Paul Frank and Adam Shulman are executive producers.
