Abrams Teaming Up with HBO

Zap2It.com | January 4, 2007

J.J. Abrams

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'Lost' mastermind may produce, direct medical drama

J.J. Abrams is considering his first foray into cable television with a pilot for a medical drama at HBO.

The "Lost" co-creator and "Mission: Impossible III" writer-director is talking with the premium cable channel about executive producing and directing a pilot about cancer patients. He may also direct the pilot, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The deal would be the first under a big-ticket deal Abrams and his company, Bad Robot, signed with Warner Bros. TV last summer. (HBO and the studio are both units of Time Warner.)

The untitled drama comes from writers Tom Schulman ("Dead Poets Society," "What About Bob?") and Rafael Yglesias ("Fearless," "From Hell"). It's based on the book "The Anatomy of Hope" by Harvard Medical School professor and New Yorker contributor Jerome Groopman.

HBO initially developed the show with Schulman and Yglesias before bringing it to Abrams. The two writers will serve as exec producers with Abrams, and Groopman and his wife, fellow Harvard Medical professor Pamela Hartzband, will serve as consultants.