In a surprise move, Bones star David Boreanaz will replace Jim Caviezel in the CBS Navy SEALs pilot.
The television industry seems to be collectively planning an influx of military shows. With History Channel’s Walton Goggins-starring Six recently nabbing a renewal and upcoming network entries set with Fox’s Behind Enemy Lines movie-to-TV adaptation, NBC’s For God and Country and even The CW taking a stab with Valor, it appears that the CBS Eye has fixed its gaze on its own genre offering. Now, said project has tapped a star in David Boreanaz whose long-running Fox gig is about to conclude.
While CBS doesn't have a title for its Navy SEALs pilot, it already has experienced a major casting swap. While THR reported last week that former Person of Interest star Jim Caviezel was to headline, it appears that plans have abruptly changed. Now, Deadline reports that Bones co-star David Boreanaz will step in for Caviezel to play Jason, the seasoned leader of the depicted SEAL assault team who has apparently experienced over a dozen deployments. The role, once belonging to Caviezel, will see Boreanaz joined by Jessica Paré, who plays Mandy, a CIA analyst described as whip-smart and determined in her mission to rid the world of evil.
The CBS SEALs pilot centers on the lives of an elite SEAL unit during their training and implementation of dangerous missions on which any mistake can prove fatal and politically consequential. The pilot and, prospectively, the series, will be run by personnel connected to the celebrated FX series Justified with executive producers Benjamin Cavell, Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly. They are joined in that capacity by Chris Chulack, an executive producer formerly of Shameless and ER. Cavell, who also wrote several episodes of Justified will pen the script for the pilot.
The initial casting of film and television veteran Jim Caviezel would have been a reunion, since he starred on CBS’s 2011-2016 action drama Person of Interest. Now, with Fox's 12-season-running forensic procedural Bones closing in on its series finale, David Boreanaz steps in, bringing some repertory alpha male gravitas. Boreanaz, of course, first made a pop-culture impact on Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the titular character's fanged love interest Angel; a role subsequently spun-off on Angel. However, Bones has been Boreanaz's primary platform, playing FBI Agent Seeley Booth since its 2005 launch. For Jessica Paré, who broke big on AMC’s Mad Men, with recent roles in the 2015 film Brooklyn and 2016 romcom Lovesick, this could represent some unprecedented moments in the spotlight.
The supporting cast for the CBS SEALs pilot is already filling up. Max Thieriot joins, jumping to a new series as his regular role on A&E’s Bates Motel wraps with the series’ impending conclusion. Neil Brown Jr., who became a crucial player on BBC America’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, is onboard. A.J. Buckley, veteran of Justified and longtime cast member of CSI: NY, also joins, as does Toni Trucks of Franklin & Bash.
That is the extent of the current info on CBS’s Navy SEALs pilot. However, given the cast and creative team the network has corralled, it’s clear that the network has stratospheric expectations for this project.