Actor Jesse Lee Soffer and executive producer Matt Olmstead are teaming up again for a new CBS crime drama titled ‘Strike Force’.
Over a year after collaborating on the now-cancelled ‘FBI: International’, the duo is working on the project under a development room order for the network’s 2027-28 broadcast slate.
The upcoming series is being produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Television alongside CBS Studios.
Written by Olmstead, ‘Strike Force’ focuses on a veteran DEA agent, played by Soffer, returning home to Kansas City to lead an elite, multi-agency team. Their mission: track and eliminate the violent criminal networks targeting America’s heartland.
Soffer and Olmstead are executive producing the show along with Bruckheimer and KristieAnne Reed for Jerry Bruckheimer TV.
‘Strike Force’ is the third project to advance past the pilot script stage out of the four dramas CBS originally announced as part of its 2027-28 development schedule in April this year. The progression highlights the network’s shifting long-term development strategy.
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The developmental track for ‘Strike Force’ follows the path CBS adopted with ‘Flint’, a cop drama starring and executive produced by Matt LeBlanc, which also received a development room order in April this year.
At that time, the single-camera comedy ‘Hilda!’ (In Lights!) and the forensic drama ‘I Know Who You Are’ each secured two-script backup orders. Since then, ‘Hilda!’ has been officially fast-tracked to a pilot order, while scripts for both ‘Flint’ and ‘I Know Who You Are’ remain in active development.
Also in the works at CBS is a medical spinoff similar to ‘Fire Country’ and ‘Sheriff Country’, which will be introduced as a backdoor pilot episode on ‘Sheriff Country’ this coming season.
If ‘Strike Force’ deal come through, this would be Soffer and Olmstead’s third series together.
Soffer joined the Wolf Entertainment-produced ‘FBI: International’ at the start of Season 4, which ended up being the show’s last. Before that, he starred on Wolf’s NBC drama ‘Chicago PD’ for more than nine seasons. Also a Wolf regular, Olmstead co-created ‘Chicago PD’ and served as showrunner on the cop drama for its first four seasons. He executive produced ‘FBI: International’ and took over as the showrunner in Season 3.