IP Picks🔎: Your Next ‘Dad TV’ Hit(s)
Paging the next procedural! Today I’ve got cops, the FBI, private investigators, war veterans and drug thrillers, ready-made for middle-aged dudes
Welcome to The Optionist. Thanks for reading along!
I think a lot about the Dad TV demo. I think it’s partially because those shows scratch a personal itch for me. Sure, I love a good rom-com or teen series or domestic drama, but cue up a great war movie and I’m in. Heck, cue up even a so-so war movie and I’m in. Another reason may be that as books become more and more female-skewing, I’m always trying to make sure that my picks don’t tilt too much in that direction. The Optionist is always on the lookout for material that appeals to the broadest range of viewers.
I’ve been collecting a bunch of promising Dad TV IP for a couple of weeks now. And rather than serving them up in dribs and drabs, I think it makes more sense to bundle them all together and highlight the genre as a whole. And as always, let me know what you think.
In the meantime, read on for a selection of titles I’m really enthusiastic about. All of them have a ton of potential….
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🔒 This Week:
On to this week’s picks! We’ve got something for every sliver of the Dad TV audience — from an emotional WWII drama to a couple of gripping true-crime procedurals.
👮♀️🕵️♂️ A turnkey true-crime story about the unlikely partnership between a TV psychic and an FBI agent that solved dozens of cold cases.
🕵🏿♂️ A series-ready procedural that updates The Untouchables with a Black lead.
🔫 A real-life Breaking Bad thriller about a cop turned drug dealer and the murders of two American soldiers.
🇺🇸 A WWII drama about returning vets that’s The Deer Hunter meets The Best Years of Our Lives.
