‘Turner & Hooch’ TV Series in Early Development at Disney Plus

By Elaine Low

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – A “Turner & Hooch” television series is in the works at streaming service Disney Plus, bringing back to life the 1989 Tom Hanks buddy comedy that pairs a detective with a dog as they set out to solve crime.

Matt Nix, known for “The Gifted” and “Burn Notice,” is attached to write and executive produce the series. Nix has an overall deal with 20th Century Fox TV, the studio behind this TV re-imagination.

It is not yet clear how faithful the adaptation will be to the original film. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode, the late ’80s story centered on Scott Turner, a “compulsively neat” detective whose “tidy world goes to the dogs when he’s forced to team up with a drooling slob of a junkyard dog named Hooch.” The original starred Hanks, Mare Winningham, Reginald VelJohnson, Scott Paulin, J.C. Quinn and Craig Nelson, and is currently available on Disney Plus.

The Disney direct-to-consumer streaming platform has been mining a deep vault of existing intellectual property from both Disney and 20th as it looks to fill its family-friendly service with content. Disney Plus’ “The Mandalorian,” a live-action TV series in the “Star Wars” family, has already spurred an online frenzy over its Baby Yoda character (officially called “The Child”). Soon to come are two separate series centered around Loki and Wanda Maximoff from Marvel’s “The Avengers” franchise, starring Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen, respectively. Other original series currently in development at the streamer include “The Biggest Star in Appleton,” starring Kristin Chenoweth.