Aaron Sorkin's 'A Few Good Men' set as NBC's 2017 live show
NBC has found its next live show after this year'sHairspray.
Marking his first return to the broadcast network since The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin will adapt his stage play turned feature film A Few Good Men into a live presentation set to air in 2017. Sorkin will write the teleplay adaptation, which will be based on the original stage version, and he will also executive produce along with Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.
A Few Good Men, which was Sorkin's professional debut, premiered on Broadway in 1989 at the Music Box Theatre to critical acclaim. Three years later, the play was adapted into a feature film that went on to receive an Oscar nomination for best picture. Set in 1986 and taking place in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, A Few Good Men centers on military lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee, who is asked to defend three Marines on trial for murder.
"I am thrilled that Aaron Sorkin is coming back to NBC to adapt and produce a live broadcast of his electrifying play 'A Few Good Men,' which seems as timely as ever today," Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, said Wednesday in a statement. "Aaron is one of the most acclaimed theater, television and film authors of our time, and I am pleased that the live event business that we pioneered with musicals is now expanding into other genres and attracting artists of his caliber. I look forward to his collaboration with our 'A-team' producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, to bring another exciting piece of live drama to a broad audience."
Read More'Hairspray' Set as NBC's Next Live Musical
Sorkin added: "I've been incredibly impressed watching NBC resurrect live musical theater for television and I'm eager to team up with Craig and Neil to help bring live drama back as well."
Said Zadan and Meron: "We couldn't be more thrilled to be working on A Few Good Men Live with the incredibly talented Aaron Sorkin. The stage production was one of the most compelling dramas we've ever seen. Not only have Bob Greenblatt and NBC taken a chance on live musicals, but they are now exposing a national audience to riveting live dramas. We're very excited to be a part of these groundbreaking TV events."
A Few Good Men Live will be NBC's first live drama since the network began reinvigorating live programming in 2013 with The Sound of Music Live starring Carrie Underwood, followed by Peter Pan Live and last year's The Wiz Live. Hairspray is set as NBC's next live musical and its fourth to date. News of the network eyeing Sorkin's courtroom drama as a potential live show first leaked in 2014.
Related: Look back at 'The Wiz':
