EXCLUSIVE: HBO Max continues to ramp up development in the classic procedural genres under The Pitt model for series intended to return each year with sizable orders at a moderate cost. The latest entry is Debbie, executive produced by Gabrielle Union, who is in discussions to star.
Written and executive produced by The Fosters co-creator Bradley Bredeweg and Missed Call co-creator Matthew Thomas, Debbie, now in development, is described as an elevated legal drama procedural exploring the cost of reinvention and the fine line between justice and survival. It centers on Debbie Powell (a role earmarked for Union), a once-feared attorney whose spectacular public downfall forces her to rebuild her life and career as a public defender, using the skills, connections, and relentless drive that once made her one of Atlanta’s most formidable lawyers to fight for those the system has left behind, one explosive case at a time.
Union executive produces via her I’ll Have Another alongside Bredeweg, Thomas and Jenny Frankfurt.
HBO Max’s drama model was introduced by the Emmy-winning medical drama The Pitt which produces 15 episodes a year. The Pitt represents one of the three classic “cop, doctor, lawyer” procedural lanes.
On the cop side, the streamer has pilot American Blue and also is developing David E. Kelley’s police drama Welcome To Catalina, based on the Michael Connelly novel Nightshade. Debbie complements the slate in the legal arena. (HBO Max also has family drama pilot How To Survive Without Me.)
Being Mary Jane, L.A.’s Finest and Truth Be Told star Union recently starred in the comedy horror movie Forbidden Fruits and the animated Goat. She will next be seen in The Casket Girls. Union is repped by CAA, Range Media Partners, and Felker McGinnis & Ryan.
Bredeweg, who co-created and executive produced Freeform’s The Fosters and its spinoff Good Trouble, is repped by UTA, 42, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman. Thomas, co-creator and head writer of Channel 5’s Missed Call, is repped by Artists First and attorney Mark Temple. Frankfurt is repped by Gregg Gellman at Yorn Levine.
