Could “Without a Trace” be the next beloved crime procedural to get the TV reboot treatment? Series creator Hank Steinberg has “some notions” about what it could look like should he get the green light.
The original “Without a Trace” ran from 2002 and 2009 on CBS, following the cases of a missing persons unit of the FBI in New York City. The series stars Anthony LaPaglia, Poppy Montgomery, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Enrique Murciano and Roselyn Sánchez. The show won an Emmy Award for guest actor in a drama series for Charles S. Dutton in 2003 as well as the Emmy Award for outstanding art direction.
“If I had it my way, it might be more character-driven, shorter order, one case of the year kind of thing,” Steinberg told TheWrap in a recent interview. “That’s the way I would approach it if I can get the entities that own the material to go along with it.
“I always felt like those episodes, which we crushed into 42 minutes, could have been fleshed out and extended to eight or 10 hours,” he added. “That’s what I think would be the most interesting version of [a reboot], rather than just trying to replicate what we had before.”
“Without a Trace” was created by Steinberg with Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Warner Bros. Television producing alongside CBS Productions from 2002 to 2006 and CBS Paramount Network Television from 2006 to 2009. The format seems primed for a reboot, much like CBS hit drama series “Criminal Minds” which found new life with a reboot on Paramount+ that boasted a shorter episode count and more character-driven setup when it first premiered in 2022.
The “Criminal Minds” reboot was renewed for Season 19 ahead of its Season 18 premiere on May 8.
Steinberg is currently an executive producer on “Doc,” the U.S. adaptation of the Italian medical drama “Doc – Nelle tue mani” for Fox produced under his overall deal with Sony Pictures Television. Following the success of the new medical drama, Steinberg signed a broadcast direct deal with Fox to develop new dramas for the network. His former credits also include creating the TNT military drama “The Last Ship” and ABC legal drama “For Life.”
“Medical dramas, I find, make it easier to explore the main characters because they are so enmeshed with their cases in a way that lawyers and cops are not,” he told TheWrap. “I’m really enjoying that part of the genre.”
“Doc” is now streaming on Hulu. “Without a Trace” is streaming on Pluto TV.
