Eric McCormack found great success with NBC’s Will & Grace sitcom but his stint on TNT’s Trust Me didn’t work out quite so well. It only lasted 13 episodes and one season before being cancelled.
Well, clearly there are no hard feelings on his part or on that of the cable channel. TNT has just picked up McCormack’s new series. It’s expected to premiere sometime in 2012.
Here’s the press release:
TNT Gives Green Light to PERCEPTION,
New Drama Series Starring Emmy® Winner Eric McCormackTNT has given the green light to PERCEPTION, an original drama series starring Emmy® and Screen Actors Guild Award® winner Eric McCormack (Will & Grace, Who Is Clark Rockefeller?). TNT has ordered 10 episodes of the new series, which centers on a neuroscientist who works to solve complex criminal cases. Also starring are Rachael Leigh Cook (She’s All That), Arjay Smith (The Day After Tomorrow) and Kelly Rowan (The O.C.). PERCEPTION was created by executive producer Kenneth Biller (Star Trek: Voyager, Legend of the Seeker) and co-executive producer Mike Sussman (Star Trek: Voyager), with McCormack serving as producer. Alan Poul (Six Feet Under) directed and served as executive producer for the pilot. Produced by ABC Studios, PERCEPTION is expected to premiere on TNT in 2012.
In PERCEPTION, McCormack plays Dr. Geoffrey Pierce, an eccentric neuroscientist who uses his unique outlook and expertise to help the federal government crack difficult cases. Pierce’s intimate knowledge of human behavior and masterful understanding of the mind are matched by his equally odd and imaginative view of the world. Cook co-stars as FBI agent Kate Rossi, Pierce’s former student and the person responsible for recruiting him to work for the government. Smith plays Max Lewicki, Pierce’s teaching assistant who has spent nine years at college. Rowan is Natalie Vincent, Pierce’s best friend and every bit his intellectual equal.
“When we saw the pilot for PERCEPTION, it confirmed what we thought from the first pitch: It’s a perfect fit for TNT’s original series lineup,” said Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). “With its blend of intensity, emotion, humor, smart storytelling, sharp direction and a buzz-worthy performance from Eric McCormack, PERCEPTION is a hugely entertaining show we believe TNT viewers will love.”
McCormack earned an Emmy and five Golden Globe® nominations for his performance as Will Truman on the long-running hit comedy Will & Grace. He followed that success with memorable performances in the mini-series The Andromeda Strain, the films My One and Only and Alien Trespass and the television movie Best Thing Ever, as well as a recurring role on The New Adventures of Old Christine. Last year, he earned rave reviews for his role in the television movie Who Is Clark Rockefeller? A longtime stage actor, McCormack played five seasons at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. He made his Broadway debut in The Music Man in 2001 and returned to the New York stage in 2006 in Neil LaBute’s Some Girl(s).
Cook comes to PERCEPTION with an extensive resume that includes starring in the hit film She’s All That and a co-starring role on the series Las Vegas. She also co-starred in TNT’s Into the West and played a recurring character on Psych. Cook’s big-screen credits include Antitrust, Josie and the Pussycats and Get Carter.
Smith earned early stardom in the series Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher and The Journey of Allen Strange. His credits also include roles on The West Wing, 24, Malcolm in the Middle, Bones, Cold Case and NYPD Blue, as well TNT’s Saving Grace. Smith’s feature-film credits include the blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow and the comedy First Sunday.
Rowan is best known for her role as Kirsten Cohen in the popular drama series The O.C. She recently starred in and executive-produced such television movies as The Good Times are Killing Me and the award-winning In God’s Country. Rowan’s credits also include roles in the series Boomtown and Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster fantasy Hook.
About TNT
TNT, one of cable’s top-rated networks, is television’s destination for drama. Seen in 100.5 million households, the network is home to such original series as The Closer, starring Emmy® winner Kyra Sedgwick; Rizzoli & Isles, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; Hawthorne, with Jada Pinkett Smith; Memphis Beat, with Jason Lee; Men of a Certain Age, with Ray Romano, Scott Bakula and Andre Braugher; and Southland, from Emmy-winning producer John Wells (ER); as well as the upcoming Falling Skies, starring Noah Wyle, and Franklin & Bash, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer. TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, Supernatural, Las Vegas, Law & Order, CSI: NY, Cold Case and, starting in late 2011, The Mentalist; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR, the NBA and the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. TNT is available in high-definition.Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.
What do you think? Does Perception interest you? Does it sound like this one could be a hit?
I love this show. I am so sick of reality shows that aren’t based in reality. I am entertained and Eric is cute. The stories make you think, please don’t change it OR CANCEL IT.
This show is a perfect way to help to eliminate some of the stigma attached to mental illnes. It shows that the mentally ill are real people with people that love them and not some freakish oddity to be feared and made fun of. Thank you for this show!
I like the show. I am sorry that he doesn’t know God but most intellectuals are misled to think that they know more than God and think they can replace Him with their intellect. The show is benign and easy to watch in a world of shootem up, blood and gore tv shows. Also the interaction between characters is kind and nice not like some others where they spend their time putting each other down.
Cook’s character Kate needs a new FBI partner. The guy that plays Probert is one dimensional and boring. His only function is to be skeptical and scoffing of Dr. Pierce, which isn’t even believable since Pierce experiences such success. Kate’s partner should be a better foil for Pierce. He should be intelligent but cocky, handsome and sexually charismatic. There should be sexual tension between him and Kate, but one that we really don’t want to see realized, since we are rooting for her and Dr. Pierce. Speaking of which, there needs to be more sexual tension moments between her and… Read more »
This show is typical liberal nonsense. Obviously the writers have a grievance against big companies, wealthy folks, God. This show is not worth 30 seconds of my day.
Seriously, a bit aggressive about a mere TV show, aren’t you:)) Let me see, we have had Buffy; where you find vampires , demons, not to forget a god, who is slayed by the little blond. True blood, where you have again vampires and human sucking various liquids out of each other, sex, blood, blood, sex, goes hand in hand. Gossip girls, pretty little liars, One tree Hill , huff!! shows where scheming , deception, backstabbing, constant sleeping around happens where the actors are suppose to be barely legal: Young bodies, around the block souls:(( In Lost girl, where the… Read more »
This show is great, I really look forward to watching it. Thanks TNT
I watched the first show and was offended by the main character saying that God is an *******!!! I am really surprised that Eric said that line. I have been a fan of his for years and can no longer watch him. What is with you guys in the script department – you can’t write and interesting script without using curse words and sex!!! My family and I feel that this show is trash and will not watch it any more.
I love this show – finally something different. It should keep going.
I gave it a second try. It just doesn’t work for me. The producers are tying to copy the successful “Mentalist” using schizophrenia instead of a con man with good intuition. I suppose they could be trying to revise a “Monk” type show using schizophrenia instead of obsessive compulsive disorder. Monk eventually failed because the show got too far away from the murder mystery obsessing on Monk’s obsessions. I think the producers are on the wrong track with using a schizophrenic as a detective for the same reasons. It is just too unbelievable.
It was very disturbing to watch Perception tonight. It’s all bad when tv people say they don’t believe in God. But to say, God can go to hell. These writers need to read the Bible and get right with the Lord Jesus Christ.
I agree, or maybe these so called writers of this garbage show can mock Muhammad so to be fair to all religions. Don’t they preach this in California?
I have a question that I am wanting someone to answer, PLEASE. Is the Natalie Vincent person supposed to be dead? If so, is she a ghost or just a hallucination of someone he used to know?
I have had schizophrenia. The concept of this show is preposterous. To have an hallucination, whether auditory or visual requires one to be in full psychosis. This would make it impossible for the person to solve 3rd grade math problems let alone solve a crime. The show does a disservice to the actual schizophrenics out there. We have enough trouble explaining our past without this crap of a TV show distorting how devastating the illness really is.
Sorry for afliction, but the show is supposed to be entertainment. There’s enough BS reality shows, find something else to watch then. Once again sorry for your pain.
Love it. Premier show confusing but all following shows are great.
I love this show and am curious to find out how Natalie Vincent had died. He’s remembering her as hallucinations, so that makes me think that she was a very real love for him, if not a romantic one, and that she had died.