‘Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector’ to focus more on back story of titular villain than 1999 movie
As far as the buddy cop genre goes, ‘Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector’, NBC’s upcoming crime drama/thriller is not the usual thoroughfare. Based on the 1997 Jeffery Deaver novel titled ‘The Bone Collector’, the series follows NYPD officers Amelia Sachs and Lincoln Rhyme.
Here’s where things get different. The eponymous Lincoln Rhyme (Russell Hornsby) is a criminologist who has been left paraplegic after an accident where he fell from a height during a case.
With Rhyme left recovering from his injuries in a wheelchair, a rookie detective called Amelia Sachs (Arielle Kebbel) becomes his eyes and ears as the NYPD searches for the notorious Bone Collector.
As per the official summary provided by NBC, “The enigmatic and notorious serial killer known only as ‘The Bone Collector’ once terrified New York City... until he seemingly disappeared. Now, three years later, when an elaborate murder points to his return, it brings former NYPD detective and forensic genius Lincoln Rhyme out of retirement and back into the fold."
"Rhyme has a personal connection to the case -- a trap set by the killer left him paralyzed -- but this time he's teaming up with Amelia Sachs, an intuitive young officer who's got her own gift for profiling. This unlikely detective duo will play a deadly new game of cat and mouse with the brilliant psychopath who brought them together. But how do you catch a killer who always seems to be one step ahead?”
While that sounds somewhat like the book’s 1999 movie adaptation starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie, things will surely be different in the series. Speaking to TV Insider earlier this month, the show’s executive producer Peter Traugott said, “We're going to spend a lot of time understanding the backstory to the Bone Collector, how he became who he became, and the nature of his relationship with Lincoln and why he has this vendetta against Lincoln.”
“We made him way more instrumental to Lincoln's original injury and the case was more personal always from the beginning,” said executive producer Mark Bianculli.
As is the case with TV shows, things will not focus on just the main villain. Lincoln and Amelia will also be tackling new cases every week. In typical police procedural style, this will add to the duo’s challenges as they set out to find Lincoln’s personal Moriarty, the Bone Collector.
‘Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector’ premieres on Friday, January 10, 8/7c, on NBC.
