Tim Minear Signs Up as Showrunner and Executive Producer

The Hollywood Reporter has a story up revealing that Tim Minear (Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse) has extended his development deal with 20th Century Fox where he has been based for over ten years. As part of this deal he will be functioning as showrunner on Terriers.

Gary Newman, chairman of 20th Television, and Shawn Ryan had the following to say about Tim's addition to the show:

"The tone of 'Terriers' is very challenging as it mixes drama, comedy and crime, which plays into Tim's talents," Newman said.

Added Ryan, "Tim is somebody who has a strong point of view, and FX is a point-of-view network thriving from having strong characters with a strong point of view."

Minear previously worked with Shawn Ryan on Angel. Ryan recounted a story to the Reporter about Minear's influence on his own career.

Ryan's and Minear's paths first crossed indirectly about 15 years ago; the two had (and still have) the same agent and manager. Frustrated that his specs weren't landing him work, Ryan asked his manager Larry Shuman to show him a script by another client who had been getting gigs.

He received a copy of an "The X-Files" spec by Minear.

"I was very impressed and realized that his was better than the ones I'd written," Ryan said. The next two specs he penned got him staff jobs and started his ascension to the top TV-writing ranks.

Minear was unaware of his influence on Ryan's career until a couple of years later when, during a Television Critics Assn. press tour, he was approached by Ryan, who introduced himself and told Minear how his spec changed the way he writes.

Promo Images!

We now have the first promo images from the pilot for your enjoyment:

Greenlit to Series

On a whim earlier this year I logged onto Amazon and bought The Shield on DVD. I'd never seen an episode of this show before. I'd heard good things but none of the TV spots I'd seen had sold me. So I put off watching it -- for years. Huge mistake.

Within six weeks of purchase I watched every episode of The Shield on DVD and loved it. That show was of course created by Shawn Ryan and aired on FX, a network known for a consistently high output in quality drama.

So naturally when I heard Shawn Ryan's prodco, Midd Kid Productions, had sold another pilot to FX I was excited that I'd be able to experience this show as it aired. That pilot was Terriers, starring Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James, and today FX greenlit it for a thirteen episode series order.

Here's Variety's description of the show:

Project is described as a comedic take on the private eye world, revolving around an ex-cop turned detective who teams up with a young hot-shot.

Keep checking this site for news and updates as they become available.