"The Martian" author Andy Weir is in early talks to make NASA TV drama "Mission Control" with CBS. It has been a long time that there was a fictional TV series based around the present-day exploits of the folks at NASA.
According to Variety, Weir will serve as not only a writer but also an executive producer. He executive produces with Slingshot media's producers Courtney Conte and Quan Phung, Charles Eglee, and Simon Kinberg and Aditya Sood.
"Mission Control" revolves around the next generation of NASA astronauts and scientists, Deadline reported. They juggle their personal and professional lives during a critical mission with no margin of error.
Besides producing "Mission Control," CBS Television Studios also placed an order for a comedy "9J, 9K, And 9L." The said comedy is inspired by the life experiences of New York native Mark Feuerstein while filming USA Network's "Royal Pains" in New York. Aaron Kaplan's Kapital Entertainment will produce it from the script written by "Friends With Better Lives" creator Dana Klein and Feuerstein.
Weir and "The Martian" director-producer Ridley Scott and producer Kinberg reunited for another untitled feature project, which was set up at Fox last year. Scott will produce through his Scott Free Productions and Kinberg through his Genre Films. Fox studio's story details are still kept under wraps for the said project.
Being a writer, Weir self-published his first hit science-fiction novel "The Martian" in 2011 as a free serial on his website and then got sold on Amazon Kindle before selling the rights to Crown Publishing, becoming a New York Times bestseller. He also published the short story "The Egg" and "Across the Lake." He is represented by CAA and Launch Books.
The space-set survival tale of "The Martian" movie adaptation was nominated for seven Academy Awards last year and also earned $630 million at the global box office. Scott, Kinberg, Michael Schaefer, and Mark Huffman were nominated for best picture, "Jason Bourne" actor Matt Damon for best actor, and Drew Goddard for best-adapted screenplay.
The said two pilots "Mission Control" and "9J, 9K, And 9L" are the first ordered by CBS in the current development cycle.
Watch the video about Andy Weir describing how science drove the plot for "The Martian":