History has teamed with Sylvester Stallone to develop “Tenderloin,” a police drama set in New York in the early 1900s.
Stallone is set to executive produce and direct multiple episodes of the series through his Balboa Productions and A+E Studios. “Sons of Anarchy” alum Stephen Kay is penning the pilot.
“Tenderloin” was part of a number of projects History unveiled Wednesday night at A+E Networks’ upfront presentation at New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center.
The series revolves around the true story of Charles Becker, a corrupt New York City cop who lead the Strong-Arm Squad tasked with trying to keep order in a neighborhood overrun with ethnic gangs in the Tammany Hall era of New York politics. Becker wound up becoming the first — and to date only — police officer to face the death penalty for murder.
“This is a passion project for Sylvester, who has discovered new facts on Becker’s case that shed new light on this infamous anti-hero. We look forward to joining forces with him to bring this incredible story to History audiences,” said Eli Lehrer, exec VP and head of programming for History.
Among other History news unveiled at the presentation:
- William Shatner will host “The UnXplained,” a new unscripted series examining mysteries and events that seem to defy reality. Series hails from Kevin Burns’ Prometheus Entertainment.
- “In Search Of,” hosted by Zachary Quinto, has been renewed for eight episodes.
- Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin will produce the six-hour documentary “Washington,” about the nation’s first President.
- “The Food That Built America” is a six-hour docudrama look at the entrepreneurs and families behind iconic American food brands such as Heinz, Hershey, Kellogg and C.W. Post.
- Set to air July 7, “Evel Live 2” will follow motorcyclists as they try to break the record for longest jump and perform other stunts.
- History is launching a live event series in the fall dubbed “HistoryTalks” featuring prominent speakers weighing in on newsworthy and historical events. It also is revving up more podcasts under the “HistorySpeaks” banner and planning a fan convention dubbed HistoryCon to take place in Pasadena, Calif., in April 2020.