Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his production company, Seven Bucks Productions, is hard at work developing a television show for Fox with Imperative Entertainment called Boost Unit. You might be familiar with the premise of the scripted drama because it’s got some hints of Fast and the Furious in it, although the show itself has no connections whatsoever to the movie franchise.
According to its longline, Boost Unit “follows the newest recruit of the Los Angles Police Department’s Auto Theft Task Force, who himself is a "notorious getaway driver with a hidden past”. Seems a little promising. The task force is actually based on the real-life unit of the LAPD that focuses on car crimes in its jurisdiction. The unit has been featured prominently in various platforms and is known for working out of warehouses and driving their own cars.
As for the show, Johnson and his team at Seven Bucks are reportedly working on a treatment that will draw a few similarities to the F&F movie franchise. Doing so would mean jumping through quite a handful of loopholes even though Johnson himself is affiliated with the franchise. So this is the direction he and his team are pursuing. There’s still no timetable on when Boost Unit will hit our TV sets since the show is still in its embryonic stage. For now, Jonny Umanski and Zach Hyatt, the pens behind the TV movie, are creating the working script for the show. Once that’s done and gets approved, a TV pilot will be developed and if that gets the green light from Fox, the show could find itself on the airwaves. The chances of it getting that far is unclear, but with a Hollywood heavyweight like The Rock behind the project, I’m not prepared to outright dismiss Boost Unit.
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Why it matters
I’ve always been a big fan of most of Dwayne Johnson’s work, ever since he traded in his wrestling trunks for movie scripts. He’s had some misses over the course of his Hollywood career, but he’s been on top of the things he’s done for the most part. That said, his record as a producer isn’t that great with the slight exception of HBO’s Ballers, a show that he also stars in.
This show, though, if it follows the template of its longline, could be interesting. Car thefts are a serious problem in the US, especially in California where the number of car-related crimes are pretty alarming. The focus on the LAPD’s Auto Theft Task Force could also be a treating subject provided that it’s done correctly and accurately. I’ve seen far too many movies not do justice to the subjects that they portray, so there’s going to be some pressure on Johnson and Seven Bucks Productions to hit this one on the spot.
I’m holding out hope that the show is successful. It would be nice to see something akin to Fast & Furious on the small screen, even if Boost Unit isn’t affiliated in any form to the successful movie franchise. Besides, Vin Diesel, the face of the F&F franchise indicated that an F&F spinoff is also being considered. There’s no word on whether these two projects will eventually be connected, but for now, let’s treat them as separate entities.
If Boost Unit does get the nod from Fox, don’t expect Dwayne Johnson to play a prominent role in it. He could, however, make some cameos to keep people’s attention. Let's wait and see what happens here.