It doesn’t seem too implausible to imagine an invasion of brain-eating aliens to be the cause of much of what happens in real-world Washington, D.C. Such an outlandish scenario could therefore make for, say, an excellent political sci-fi comedy thriller (sorry, there were no genres left to spare) — at least, CBS seems to think so. Michelle and Robert King, the creators of beloved political drama The Good Wife, just received a 13 episode, straight-to-series order for their series, BrainDead, from the network.
According to Deadline, the series follows a new-to-Capitol-Hill employee whose enthusiasm is met by professional paralysis from her coworkers —because they’re actually brain dead, their intellects seemingly residing somewhere in assorted aliens’ stomachs.
The Kings currently have a three-year producing deal with the network, which ensures that they stay on as showrunners of The Good Wife, while developing new series. This anomalous “West Wing meets The Strain” series, replete with what CBS Entertainment chairman Nina Tassler calls “layers of humor, suspense and the supernatural,” is the first project they’ve developed under the deal.
The Kings said:
We wanted to do a show that was a mix of genre-pulp and high-brow politics. It seemed like the best way to address the news today – not straight, but as the opening act of a horror movie.
The show will air next summer.