Three years ago, Detective David Creegan was shot. He took a single .45 calibre bullet to the head while on duty with the FBI's Organized & Serial Crime Unit. For ten minutes, he lay dead on an emergency room table. And then he came back to life.

He went through physical rehab and time in a mental institution. His doctors say he's lost certain "faculties." He no longer feels shame. He has no regrets. Nothing restrains his emotions.

He has a new partner to keep him in line and Detective Susan Branca is supposed to act as a stabilizing influence. But it is a battle of opposing wills - she follows procedure and he trusts his gut. She thinks he's a liability - but Creegan has never felt more alive, more in tune with his instincts... or more in touch with the evil he investigates for the OSC.

 

Main Cast

Jeffrey Donovan - Detective Inspector Dave Creegan
Vera Farmiga - Detective Inspector Susan Branca
Bradley Cooper - Detective Inspector Mark Rivers
Zach Grenier - Commander Hank Enwright
Peter Wingfield - Officer John Krakauer
Kevin Durand - Officer Jay Swopes

Screenplay: Bruno Heller
Director: Allen Hughes
Producer: James Bigwood  -  Co-Producer: Martha Haight
Co-Executive Producers: Rachel Talalay & Michael Angeli
Executive Producers: Allen & Albert Hughes, Bruno Heller, Robert Palm, Antony Root, Arnold Rifkin & Bruce Willis

Produced by Cheyenne Enterprises, Tonka Films Ltd & Granada Entertainment USA.

 

August 2004

 

Touching Evil, an intriguing USA Network series about an eccentric police detective, won't have a second season, reported JournalNow.com. Despite critical acclaim and a small but loyal audience, the series wasn't able to draw the ratings needed to convince USA to renew it. "We liked the show," a network spokeswoman told the New York Daily News. "It just didn't perform as well as we would have liked."

The series was produced by filmmakers Allen and Albert Hughes (Menace II Society, From Hell) and actor Bruce Willis, who made a cameo appearance in the show. It was based on a British crime drama starring Robson Green. The first and third seasons of the original British version of Touching Evil are available on DVD from WGBH Boston, and the second season is due out Sept. 28.
  

 

 

27 March 2004

Now that the USA Network Touching Evil is getting into its stride - it's time for us to draw this section to a close. There are now numerous fan sites online. It's been interesting watching developments and reading your comments about the USA version and if you haven't already, you can contribute at the RG Forum.

 

16 March 2004

The two-hour premiere of the USA crime drama Touching Evil drew 3.3 million total viewers last Friday, reported Hollywood Reporter.

Stacked against such other USA series premieres as The Dead Zone (6.4 million), Peacemakers (5.2 million) and Monk (4.8 million), Evil fell far short. However, Evil's predecessors benefited by launching during the less competitive summer season. While Evil led all key demographics among basic cable networks at 10 p.m. -- during its second hour -- its first half was beaten by the TNT premiere of Men in Black. Evil did, however, build slightly on its 8 p.m. lead-in, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which attracted 3.1 million.

Based on a British series, Evil stars Jeffrey Donovan as an uninhibited detective working with an elite FBI crime-fighting unit. Executive producers include Bruce Willis and the Hughes brothers.

 

12 March 2004

An American spin on a British original
By Bill Keveney | USA Today

The English version of Touching Evil is no stranger to these shores. PBS' Mystery introduced American viewers to the series, presenting 16 episodes from Evil's three seasons after they were first broadcast in England in the late 1990s. Although the behaviour of the original Creegan (Robson Green) is not as outrageous as his American counterpart's, the British detective becomes similarly obsessed with his investigations when he returns to work after being shot in the head. The American premiere, as well as some other episodes, is based on scripts from the original.

Producers Bruce Willis and Arnold Rifkin call the original "distinctive television" when explaining why they decided to adapt it. Though some British series have translated into hits here, such as All in the Family, many others, most recently Coupling, have perished in transit. The few dramas that have crossed the pond include Cracker, a failed late-'90s drama, again about an investigator with a darker side. It starred character actor Robert Pastorelli, who died earlier this week.

USA Network's Jeff Wachtel acknowledges the challenges of remaking a series and says an adaptation should avoid trying to be an exact copy. "The first rule: Forget everything that came before. Rule two: Find an original vision. Rule three: Then go back and use whatever elements from the original seem appropriate," says Wachtel, whose network recently produced its own version of Traffic, a British miniseries that became an American movie.

The three seasons of the English Evil are available on VHS and DVD. Green, the original Creegan, can be seen on two BBC America dramas, Wire in the Blood (Monday, 9 p.m. ET/PT) and Trust (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT).

 

28 January 2003

Bruce Willis is set to shock fans by playing a nasty villain in a new TV mini-series. The Die Hard star is an executive producer on the American adaptation of British TV drama Touching Evil, and he's so impressed with the early episodes he wants to play a bad guy in an upcoming storyline. He says, "I have volunteered to play a villain in one of the episodes, and I plan on doing so. I'm not sure when but I can't wait."

 

16 January 2004 - USA Network Press Release

USA Network presents Touching Evil, an original series executive produced by Bruce Willis, Arnold Rifkin and the Hughes Brothers, and starring Jeffrey Donovan and Vera Farmiga.

Cheyenne Enterprise principals Bruce Willis (Armageddon, Die Hard) and Arnold Rifkin (Tears of the Sun, Crocodile Hunter) executive produce Touching Evil, a USA Network original series based on the hit series by British Granada Television. Allen and Albert Hughes (Menace II Society, From Hell) make their television debut as executive producers. The series pilot is directed by Allen Hughes and penned by Bruno Heller (Rome). Touching Evil premieres Friday, March 12, 2004 from 9:00 – 11:00 p.m. ET/PT. Beginning March 19, the series can be seen Fridays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Jeffrey Donovan (Storyteller, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2) stars as Detective David Creegan, who takes a twelve month psychological leave of absence after surviving a near fatal gunshot wound to the head. He returns to work for the FBI’s new Organized and Serial Crime Unit, a rapid-response, elite crime squad. His brush with death renders him fearless in his relentless pursuit of justice as he and his partner Detective Susan Branca, portrayed by Vera Farmiga (UC: Undercover), specialize in solving shocking, high profile crimes.

The Hughes Brothers began making movies at age twelve, but their formal film education began their freshman year of high school when Allen took a TV production class. They soon made a short film entitled How To Be A Burglar and followed with Uncensored Videos, which was broadcast on cable. After high school, Albert began taking classes at LACC Film School where two shorts, Menace and Drive-By, established the twins' reputation as innovative filmmakers and enabled them to direct Menace II Society, which made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Other Hughes Brothers films include Dead Presidents, starring Lorenz Tate (Menace II Society) and Chris Tucker (Rush Hour), the feature-length documentary American Pimp and the feature film, From Hell, starring Johnny Depp and Heather Graham.

Jeffrey Donovan’s most recent project was the indie film Sam And Joe. Other film credits include Purpose, Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, Bait and Barry Levinson’s Sleepers. He made his feature film debut in Throwing Down, which won the grand prize Best Feature Film Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival. Donovan’s television credits include When Trumpets Fade, an HBO original picture and Critical Choices. He has had recurring roles on Spin City, The Beat and The Pretender. Donovan has guest-starred on Millennium, Law And Order, Witness To The Mob and Homicide.

Vera Farmiga was most recently seen on the big screen in the romantic comedy Dummy opposite Academy Award® winner Adrien Brody. Other film credits include Down to the Bone for award-winning director Debra Granik; Love in the Time of Money, opposite Michael Imperioli, Rosario Dawson, Steve Buscemi and Adrian Grenier and produced by Robert Redford; and Fifteen Minutes opposite Robert De Niro and Edward Burns. Farmiga will appear in the HBO miniseries Iron Jawed Angels opposite Hilary Swank, Anjelica Huston, Frances O’Connor and Molly Parker which is slated to air spring of 2004. Her other television credits include the television movie Snow White and the series UC: Undercover.

Bruce Willis and Arnold Rifkin are co-founders of Cheyenne Enterprises, LLC, a company based in Los Angeles, California focusing on the entertainment business, film, and television production. Cheyenne Enterprises has their first-look feature film deal at Revolution Studios and a second-look deal at MGM Studios.

USA Network is cable television’s leading provider of original series and feature movies, sports events, off-net television shows, and blockbuster theatrical films. USA Network is available in 81% of all U.S. homes and is seen in over 86 million U.S. homes. USA Network is a program service of Universal Television Networks, part of the Universal Television Group, a division of Vivendi Universal Entertainment, the U.S.-based film, television and recreation entity of Vivendi Universal, a global media and communications company.

 

8 January 2004

USA Network were taking part in this weeks Cable Press Tour yesterday for Touching Evil. The panel they sent included executive producers Bruce Willis and Arnold Rifkin, executive producer/director Allen Hughes and actors Jeffrey Donovan and Vera Farmiga. Apparently, Bruce Willis said that he was interested in acting in one of the episodes.

The premier date will be March 12th with new episodes every Friday from March 19th. Check out the official USA Touching Evil website for video previews and more details on the series.

 

17 December 2003

It's a family affair on the Vancouver set of Touching Evil, USA Network's new series based on Granada TV's British show of the same name, reports Lynne McNamara of the Vancouver Sun.

Fraternal twin brothers Allen and Albert Hughes, who shot the pilot here last spring, are making their TV debut with the Bruno Heller-penned crime drama, which they also executive produce with fellow Cheyenne Enterprises principals Arnold Rifkin (Crocodile Hunter) and actor Bruce Willis. The African-American writer/producer/director siblings, now 31, were born in Detroit and raised in southern California by their Armenian mom, a feminist. They began making movies at home when they were just 12 years old. In their first year of high school, Allen signed up for a TV production class and soon the duo made their first real film, a short called How To Be A Burglar. Their next work, Uncensored Videos, was broadcast on cable.

After high school, Albert took classes at Los Angeles City College Film School. Two shorts produced in that time established the twins' reputation as innovative film-makers and landed them the directing job on 1993's Menace II Society. That picture made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and grossed nearly 10 times its $3-million US budget. Next came the 1995 bank heist picture Dead Presidents, the 1999 feature-length documentary American Pimp and 2001's From Hell.

Touching Evil stars Jeffrey Donovan (Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2) as David Creegan, an FBI detective who, after surviving a near-fatal gunshot to the head and taking a year-long leave of absence, now focuses on solving shocking, high profile crimes. Creegan runs the Organized and Serial Crime Unit, a rapid-response, elite crime squad, with his partner, played by Vera Farmiga. As the father of two, saving lives and keeping the world safe for his kids is the only thing keeping him sane.

In the pilot episode, three little boys are abducted, and only three clues are left -- a daffodil, a yellow Volvo and the testimony of a deranged psychic who has "seen" their murder -- to help the FBI in their search. In his research, Creegan finds that the daffodil clue echoes a similar unsolved kidnapping crime in Denver several years earlier. He discovers that the Volvo owner is former Denver resident, Dr. Ronald Hinks, director of R&D for a local bioengineering company. Creegan thinks he's got his man. But after searching the Hinks' home and lab and finding no evidence, he's frustrated. In desperation, he decides to take matters into his own hands.

Vancouver's Brian Markinson (also starring as Roy Cohn's pal, Martin Heller, in HBO's stunning mini-series Angels in America, airing this month) also has a role. USA has ordered 13 episodes of Touching Evil, which will premiere in early 2004.

 

18 October 2003

USA Network announced that their original series pilot, Touching Evil, will be broadcast in Spring 2004. We don't have an exact date as yet and we'll update the Site when we hear more.

 

8 July 2003

Allen and Albert Hughes (Menace II Society, From Hell) make their television debut as executive producers of Touching Evil, a USA Network original series based on the hit series by British Granada Television. Cheyenne Enterprise principals Arnold Rifkin (Tears of the Sun, Crocodile Hunter) and Bruce Willis (Armageddon, Die Hard) also executive produce the series. The series pilot is directed by Allen Hughes and penned by Bruno Heller (The Expendables, The Huntress).

Jeffrey Donovan (Storyteller, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2) stars as Detective David Creegan, who after surviving a near fatal gunshot wound to the head, takes a 12-month psychological leave of absence. He returns to work for the FBI's new Organized and Serial Crime Unit, a rapid-response, elite crime squad. His brush with death renders him fearless in his relentless pursuit of justice as he and his partner Vera Farmiga (UC: Undercover) specialize in solving shocking, high profile crimes.

"The work that Allen Hughes, Arnold Rifkin and Bruno Heller did on this pilot is both brilliant and unique. It is a pleasure and an honour to be working with artists performing at this level," says executive vice president, original programming, USA Network, Jeff Wachtel. "Now we just need to do it every week."

"Working with USA provided me with more latitude than I expected in television. It was important for me to bring a style, feel and vibe to the series that doesn't currently exist in TV," says executive producer and director Allen Hughes. "The script was one of the best I had seen, and once the casting came together with Jeffrey Donovan and Vera Farmiga and we had Arnold Rifkin and Bruce Willis on board, I was confident that the series would exude the energy I was looking for. It's an absolute dream for me to see what I've believed in finally come to the screen. What makes this project even more extraordinary is the addition of the talented film director Allen Hughes doing his first TV project for Cheyenne Enterprises," says executive producer Arnold Rifkin.

The Hughes Brothers began making movies at age twelve, but their formal film education began their freshman year of high school when Allen took a TV production class. They soon made a short film entitled How To Be A Burglar and people began to take notice. Their next work, Uncensored Videos, was broadcast on cable, introducing them to a wider audience. After high school Albert began taking classes at LACC Film School where two shorts, Menace and Drive-By established the twins' reputation as innovative filmmakers and enabled them to direct Menace II Society, which made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and grossed nearly 10 times its $3 million budget. After following up with Dead Presidents, the Hughes Brothers directed the feature-length documentary American Pimp which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. Most recently, the brothers further demonstrated their range with the Jack The Ripper film, From Hell, starring Johnny Depp and Heather Graham.

USA has ordered 13 hours of the show to air early 2004. The UK version of Touching Evil, co-produced by United Productions, Coastal Productions and WGBH Boston, starred Green as a detective who survived a near-fatal bullet wound. Launching in 1997, it ran to a trio of two-parters on ITV1 and PBS's strand Mystery. It was created and written by Paul Abbott, who also scripted Clocking Off and Cracker, which was itself reversioned for the US as the ill-fated Fitz. Clocking Off is also currently being reworked for a US remake.

 

19 March 2003

The USA Network is closing in on a pickup of the western Peacemakers, which will join The Dead Zone and Monk in its original series line-up. The show, set in 1881 and starring Tom Berenger, could premiere this summer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Two other pilots, detective thriller Touching Evil and supernatural drama Thought Crimes, stand a good chance of being picked up for early 2004.

 

13 March 2003

Zach Grenier (Fight Club, Law & Order) and Peter Wingfield (Highlander: The Series) have joined the cast of USA Network's pilot Touching Evil, about a brilliant detective (Jeffrey Donovan) who, after surviving a near-fatal gunshot to the head, focuses on solving shocking and high-profile crimes.

Grenier will play the detective's boss, Commander Enwright, and Wingfield will play an officer of the OSC named Krakauer. Both will be regulars if the series is picked up.

 

9 January 2003

Allen and Albert Hughes (Menace II Society, From Hell) have signed to make their television debut as they direct and executive produce Touching Evil, a USA Network 90-minute series pilot based on the British Granada TV series of the same name.

In the pilot, Jeffrey Donovan (Storyteller, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2) stars as David Creegan, a detective who, after surviving a near fatal gunshot to the head, now focuses on solving shocking, high profile crimes. Production begins on 9 March 2003 in Vancouver.

The story begins with the abduction of three children. The only clues so far are a daffodil, a yellow Volvo and the testimony of a deranged psychic who has seen their eventual murder "through the clouds." FBI member David Creegan leads the case for the Organized and Serial Crime (OSC) Unit, a rapid-response, elite crime squad. A year ago, Creegan survived a near fatal gunshot to the head and as a result, took a 12-month psychological leave. The only thing keeping him from being completely unstable is saving lives and, as a father of two, making the world a safer place for his children.

Creegan discovers that the disappearance of the boys and the curious disposition of daffodils recall a similar unsolved incident in Denver several years before. And when it's determined that the owner of the Volvo is the Director of R & D for bioengineering company Kessler Technologies, Dr. Ronald Hinks, formerly of Denver, the case seems straightforward enough. But when searches of Hinks' residence and laboratory yield no hard evidence, it looks like the smug scientist is going to get away with murder. Time is running short, and if the kidnapper remains true to form, the boys are still alive... for now. Locked in a stalemate with Hinks and desperate to find the children, Creegan decides to take matters into his own hands whereby using whatever means necessary.

Touching Evil is based on the Granada TV series and is executive produced by Arnold Rifkin (Hart's War, Bandits) and co-executive produced and penned by Bruno Heller (The Expendables, The Huntress).

 

14 December 2002

Jeffrey Donovan (The Pretender) has signed on to play the lead in USA Networks pilot based on a British series. His character is a detective who's suffered a near-death experience in Touching Evil, one of three drama pilots USA Networks is developing for a spot on its schedule, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

After his trauma, the character returns to work as part of a unit that tracks serial killers and other high-profile criminals. The British series also explored how he and his colleagues were nearly as psychologically damaged as the criminals they hunted. It was aired on Britain's ITV network from 1997-99. Some episodes have aired in the United States as part of the PBS 'Mystery!' series.

 

22 August 2002

In the USA, cable channel USA Networks has ordered a re-version of Granada TV's UK crime drama Touching Evil, and lined up for 2003.

The US pilot, being produced by Arnold Rifkind (Cheyenne Enterprises) and Granada, is being groomed as a possible companion series to USA Network's crime hit Monk, about an obsessive detective. The UK version of Touching Evil, co-produced by United Productions, Coastal Productions and WGBH Boston, starred Robson Green as a detective who survived a near-fatal bullet wound. Launching in 1997, it ran to three series of two-parters on ITV1 and PBS's strand Mystery.

It was created and written by Paul Abbott, who also scripted Clocking Off and Cracker, which was itself re-versioned for the USA as the ill-fated Fitz.

 

19 January 2001

American film and TV producers have been in talks with North East actor Robson Green, the Newcastle Evening Chronicle reported tonight.

He has just returned from the States where he has been promoting the third series of Touching Evil, the US rights to which was bought by Bruce Willis' production company Cheyenne Enterprises. While there, Green met Hollywood bigwigs to discuss future ventures, but rumours that he hopes the meetings will kick-start a Hollywood movie career have been played down - for now. A spokesman for his TV company Coastal Productions said: "He met some people, but there's nothing concrete. It is a case of getting yourself known and seeking out what's on offer. Robson's been working flat out and is taking time to consider what to do next."

The first episode of the crime drama Touching Evil 3 was screened last night in the USA. The Robson spokesman said: "As far as a film version of Touching Evil goes, it is out of our hands because Bruce Willis' company has bought the American rights. It is up to them who they cast. There's no talk of Robson being in it."

 

16 December 2000

If you live in the USA then you may be interested to know that Robson will be in Los Angeles from 10-14 January 2001 publicising Touching Evil 3 - so keep an eye out for publicity!

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