EXCLUSIVE: The BBC America series ends Sunday but Copper may get a second life on the big screen. One day after the network announced that the Civil War-era series would be cancelled after two seasons, I’ve learned that co-creator/executive producer Tom Fontana and fellow EPs Barry Levinson and Tom Kelly are considering a movie version. The extensive story arc work Fontana did on a third season has the veteran producer eyeing revamping the material for a movie, sources say, with the potential big-screen version said to look at examining life in America after the death of Abraham Lincoln and the years of Reconstruction. Copper, which Fontana co-created with Will Rokos, was BBC America’s first original scripted series and centers on Irish immigrant cop Kevin Corcoran in 1860s New York City. It premiered in August 2012 with 1.1 million total viewers, the largest audience ever for a BBC America series debut. Copper was renewed last October but lost momentum after its June 23 Season 2 premiere.
Related: BBC America’s ‘Copper’ Cancelled After Two Seasons
Pitching feature versions of cancelled TV shows are nothing new — but often don’t happen. After Showtime decided in June not to go ahead with a feature-scale finale of cancelled The Borgias, creator Neil Jordan opted to release the script as an e-book. Earlier this month, ABC Family released the script for The Nine Lives Of Chloe King: Salvation, a two-hour telefilm conclusion to the series that was cancelled in 2011 after one season. After TNT pulled the plug on Leverage, EP Dean Devlin said a big-screen version was a “possibility”, but nothing has happened on that front . On the other hand, a highly successful multimillion-dollar Kickstarter campaign helped give Veronica Mars new life as a film with Warner Bros Digital on board. That pic is scheduled to come out next year.
Deadline's Dominic Patten - tip him here.
Get Deadline news and alerts FREE to your inbox...
I loved this show. Hate to see it go.
Hope this happens.
So sad to see this period series end! Although the Irish accents were “sometimes” hard to understand, it was a unique and suspenseful program that was brilliantly produced. I am hopeful that it will be made into a movie. The entire cast was fabulous
Fantastic news! This movie would definitely be on my “must see” list1
The show was great, I learned so much about the time period that I never learned or was interested in school. The casting, sets, costumes, were very well done. I’m sad to say the least.
How about a TV series about Reconstruction in the South? This premise is odd – who really cares about Irish immigrants when the country is falling apart and a huge war is happening! They’re missing all the real drama of the era.
i cant believe the junk that is still on tv and yet smart,entertaining show like Copper are cancelled. i am tired of the teen vampire, supernatual, silly show. i enjoyed a show that told it like it was and how we as humans fright to understand our fellow man not matter how fawled they are, bbc has lost my faith in them for now. after some time i might be back but right now i dont trust them to cancel another show who we all fought for and loves
IMHO the fans want many more TV shows to become feature films.
Sex And The City and X-Files were the tip of the iceberg.
Why doesn’t it happen more?
I would love to see feature films of The Shield, Oz, and The Wire.
Love this show and do hope it continues as a film.
Nooooo! I love Copper!
Once again, the entertainment industry cancels an intelligent, brilliantly written peek in to our heritage masterly portrayed by a devoted, talented and approachable (Sunday night Twitter exchanges with cast and “Copperheads”). Aside from intimate peeks at NYC 5Points District during the last years of the Civil War, the cast and crew generously traded banter with the viewers. Excitement was felt from all sides…Sunday night with Copper was an event that will be sorely missed. There is so much history and characters whose stories need to evolve and be played out. Sadly, there is a large group of intelligent viewers that expect quality entertainment, only to see meaningful drama give way to cheap reality TV that so tragically underscores the dumbing of America. Vampires, Zombies, re hashed family “comedies” pile high to a banal mountain of mind numbing garbage. “Copper” is the best that TV has offered in a verrrry long time. At the end of an episode, hearts were pounding and minds reeling from the possibilities of the next episode. I can only hope that, perhaps another network might pick up this gem or maybe a movie. In the meantime, I am left with 250 channels and nothing to watch!
Tom is a genius
I love Copper! Hate to know it has been canceled. I visited NYC for the first time this summer. Made sure our guide took us to see 5 Points.