In The News – History Orders Navy SEAL Drama Series ‘Six’

In The News – History Orders Navy SEAL Drama Series ‘Six’

History is making a push in original scripted series with two follow-up series to its breakout Vikings. On the heels of the 10-episode straight-to-series order to the Crusades-themed historical drama Knighfall, executive produced by Jeremy Renner, the cable network has greenlighted SIX, an eight-episode contemporary military action drama from A+E Studios and The Weinstein Company.

Written by Oscar-nominated screenwriter and Vietnam veteran William Broyles (Castaway, Jarhead) and his son David Broyles, a military special operations veteran, Six follows a Navy SEAL Team Six, whose 2014 mission to eliminate a Taliban leader in Afghanistan goes awry when they uncover a U.S. citizen working with the terrorists. Stemming from an idea by Harvey Weinstein, the drama is inspired by real missions, capturing SEALs’ complex personal lives and the life-and-death decisions they make, with each season set in a different location, starting with Africa.

Why Africa? “The idea originally came to me when I read about Boko Haram kidnapping schoolchildren in Africa,” Weinstein said. “I thought about how our world would react, and it brought on the idea of creating a series about the world of SEAL Team Six because the story felt as poignant and timely as ever. Each year will feature a different theater of war – the first starting in Africa.”

The Broyleses then were brought in to develop the idea and write a script using their firsthand experience. “Six is a series that recognizes this country’s great heroes and soldiers, and there’s no doubt that it will make for some of the most important, provocative television seen in ages,” Weisnstein added.

Six is executive produced by William Broyles, David Broyles, Harvey and Bob Weinstein, Alfredo Barrios, Jr. (Burn Notice) and George W. Perkins (Live from Baghdad). Bruce C. McKenna (Band of Brothers, The Pacific) will serve as Executive Consultant, and join Barrios, William and David Broyles, and Karen Campbell (Dexter) in writing the episodes. Retired U.S. Navy SEAL Mitchell Hall (Zero Dark Thirty, Lone Survivor) will serve as the series’ technical adviser.

“The backdrop surrounding this elite team of American soldiers – from their lives at home to the astonishing bravery they display serving our country – provides an amazing canvas for stories that deserve to be told,” said Paul Buccieri, President of A&E and History. Added Jana Bennett, President & General Manager of History: “Sixrepresents the type of authenticity History values from our creative and writing teams. This series will reflect the network’s renewed focus on core programming which embraces our recent history as well as our deeper past.”