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Jason Statham is pretty busy on the big screen with films like The Expendables 2 (hitting theaters this weekend), but that’s not keeping his film franchise The Transporter from heading to the small screen in the form of a new Cinemax TV show. The film series followed Frank Martin, an ex-Special Forces operator making a living as a no-questions-asked transporter of goods for dangerous people, and this new TV series aims to keep that action going.
Though the production hit a bit of a snag last year when series star Chris Vance was injured filming an action sequence, it looks like the series, which has dropped “The” from its title, is finally on the way to cable, and a new action-packed trailer has just arrived with plenty of chases, explosions and lovely ladies.
Chris Vance plays Frank Martin in this TV version, which is written by Alexander Ruemelin, Joseph Mallozzi ,Paul Mullie, Carl Binder, and Steve Bailie, with Lost director Stephen Williams helming the pilot. Other episodes in the series feature Bruce McDonald (Degrassi: The Next Generation, Queer as Folk) and Andy Mikita (Stargate Universe, Sanctuary). Transporter also stars François Berléand as Inspector Tarconi, Andrea Osvart as Carla – a former CIA agent, handler and love interest for Martin – and other beautiful women like Delphine Chanéac and Rachel Skarsten.
Production was worrisome with original showrunners Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie being shuffled into a smaller supervising role, and Steve Shill (Dexter) hired to oversee production and get the bloated budget under control. However, Shill left the production in January, and we’re not sure who replaced him as executive producer on the series. Let’s hope all the kinks were worked out and Cinemax has a fun cable series on their hands.
It’s not clear whether or not this series will live up to the over-the-top action of its film predecessor, but the above trailer looks pretty entertaining. It feels almost like a mindless James Bond, complete with the tease of sultry cable sex that only Cinemax can offer in between some impressive action sequences. I’m not sure Vance has the same commanding presence as Jason Statham, but this could turn out to be a blast on cable.
Transporter doesn’t yet have a premiere date, so stay tuned for more.
