Knight Rider Makes Comeback 20 Years Later

The ‘80s series about a man and his futuristic, talking car is returning on NBC – that’s right, “Knight Rider,” with its talking car and leather jacket-clad driver is back.



NBC is bringing back the action series in the form of a telepic: a 2-hour TV movie/pilot that is to test the waters and, if all goes well, transform into a bona fide series, according to Variety.

“Knight Rider” aired on NBC from 1982 to 1986 and starred David Hasselhoff as a curly-haired, blue-eyed, adventurous crime-fighter whose ally is a car infused with artificial intelligence – Kitt. The show enjoyed great success and turned Hasselhoff into a teen heartthrob.

Entertainment Weekly reports Doug Liman, director of movies like “The Bourne Identity” and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” will produce the series. The premise of the original show will reportedly remain much the same however, the special effects are bound to be significantly advanced.

The series will go into production for a 2008-09 debut. While this has not been settled yet, Liman could also act as director for the “backdoor pilot,” according to Variety.

The trade paper reports that NBC Entertainment chief Ben Silverman found inspiration in seeing the successful revival of “Transformers,” whose main stars are transforming vehicles of good or evil intentions.
Knight Rider Makes Comeback 20 Years Later

Hasselhoff, now 55, last embodied crime-fighter Michel Knight in 1991, says E! Online, for the TV movie “Knight Rider 2000.” Hasselhoff moved from one successful show to another as he became heroic lifeguard Mitch Buchannon, in the “Baywatch” series.

He is currently a judge on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.”

Variety also notes that the new “Knight Rider” could be a goldmine for NBC in more ways than one: the show will need an automaker to serve as exclusive auto brand. Preliminary talks seem to have already begun, according to the trade paper.