If you didn’t catch the 2011 movie Limitless, based on the sci-fi novel The Dark Fields, you might want to before the fall TV season. CBS has picked up a TV show based on the premise of the movie which was based on the book, and it looks like Limitless the TV show will join next season’s Minority Report series on Fox as “TV shows that are sequels to sci-fi movies.”
Limitless ultimately has the advantage over Minority Report because it will involve the film’s star, Bradley Cooper, as his character from the film. There’s no way Minority Report ever scores Tom Cruise, but Cooper is going beyond what we originally thought he’d do (hand off the franchise in the pilot) and agreed to be a recurring character on the TV series rather than just a one-off pilot movie-star cameo rocket.
Limitless was the story of Cooper’s character Eddie Mora, a novelist with writer’s block. One of his friends who is a chemical researcher gives him an experimental drug called NZT-48 and suddenly Eddie has complete access over his memories: everything he’s ever read, saw, or experienced at all times. At least until the NZT wears off.
As Eddie becomes increasingly addicted to the high of being infinitely smart, side effects start to manifest and withdrawal kicks in when he tries to stop. The first movie ends with Eddie rising to power and wealth in the US, enough of both to be able to get scientists in multiple labs to reverse engineer and improve upon NZT-48. He claims he’s perfected it and is planning to run for President some day.
The series looks to pick up not long after the movie, with Eddie offering series protagonist Brian Finch (played by Jake McDorman) some NZT for unclear reasons. Finch gets embroiled in the same underworld conflict that Eddie did in the film, but this time Special Agent Rebecca Harris (Jennifer Carpenter) of the FBI gets wise to NZT’s power.
Yes, just like the Minority Report series will take that sci-fi story’s concept, pre-cogs, and find a way to turn it into a crime-solving procedural, so has Limitless. Special Agent Harris and Finch will team up to solve crimes and it isn’t clear from what we know about the series how often Bradley Cooper will appear as Edward Mora (now a Senator) and what his ultimate relationship to Finch is.
Bradley Cooper has been a producer on this TV incarnation since its inception, but his commitment to appearing on the series when his schedule allows adds real cred to what otherwise would be a pretty standard looking CBS crime procedural.
We are talking about Bradley Cooper, star of American Sniper, the highest grossing movie of the last calendar year (including, as of this moment, heavy hitters like Mockingjay Part 1 and Age of Ultron). Sitting at number 4 on that very same list? Guardians of the Galaxy, featuring Cooper as the voice of fan favorite character Rocket Racooon.
What makes this a good time for Bradley Cooper to use his amassed Hollywood cred to ensure a first season for a Limitless TV show? Was Cooper’s upgrade from a cameo in the pilot to a reoccurring role something he did to help a show he’s producing, or something CBS asked for if it was going to risk a few weeks of aLimitless TV show on its network? Is someone just a little lost now that The Hangover franchise has stopped?
These are the questions that may never be answered if the show is a success. If it bombs, yeah, we’ll get some behind the scenes dish, but we won’t care.
There are limits on my interest in Limitless. That limit is the involvement of Bradley Cooper. He needs to pass off this sci-fi concept to a new cast of a crime-solving procedural.
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