Cold Case Reboot In The Works At CBS With Original Creator

The original Cold Case ran from 2003 to 2010 and followed Philadelphia homicide detective Lilly Rush (Kathryn Morris), who takes on the task of solving cases that have never been solved. Danny Pino, John Finn, Jeremy Ratchford, Thom Barry, and Tracie Thoms also starred in the series. The reboot’s setting in the Southwest and the new team of detectives means we likely won’t see much focus on these characters.

Reportedly, Danny Pino has had conversations about reprising his character Detective Scotty Valens in the Cold Case reboot, and the role could possibly be significant (maybe as a mentor to the new detectives). Meanwhile, Morris has reportedly not been approached about the reboot but could possibly have a limited role in the series after leading the original for seven seasons. It seems likely that the reboot would at least want to bring Morris and Pino back, at least to drum up some interest from fans of the original series.

Meredith Stiehm is writing the script for the Cold Case reboot and executive producing with Jerry Bruckheimer for Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Kristie Anne Reed for Warner Bros TV and CBS Studios. However, apparently, negotiations between Warner Bros TV and CBS are slow, and the two are not close to making a deal on the series. There also aren’t any cast members attached to the project outside of the rumored talks with Pino.

Casting for the Cold Case reboot won’t begin until a deal between the two studios is made. Deadline reports that the two are facing similar issues that occurred when negotiating a renewal for Warner Bros TV’s East New York series, with additional streaming rights being a particular sticking point of the deal. The talks for this series fell through after months, so it may be a while before the Cold Case reboot is officially pushed through.

It remains to be seen if the Cold Case reboot would take a more episodic approach like the original series or a more serialized approach. Much like other popular crime procedurals like the Law & Order franchise, Cold Case episodes would typically focus on a single investigation that would be solved by the end of the episode. Meanwhile, there would be some light serialized elements that focused on the arcs of the main case.

Cold Case ran for 156 episodes, with the first few seasons being big ratings hits for CBS. Ratings slowly declined as the seasons went on, with the show eventually canceled after seven seasons. Much to the chagrin of fans, the seventh season’s finale ended on a cliffhanger, so perhaps the reboot could resolve some of the long-lingering questions fans have had since the original series ended.