HBO has given the go-ahead to a new series from the makers of “Blade Runner” — the latest part of its unannounced plan to build Cinemax, the cable channel best known for its late-night, soft-core movies, into a guy-friendly action channel.
The new series, called “The Sector,” sounds more than a little like a TV update of the famed sci-fi classic about a 21st-century cop who hunts down rogue androids who sneak back to Earth.
“The Sector” will be about “the commander of a paramilitary unit who pursues a dangerous new race of genetically enhanced humans,” according to an internal memo describing the project.
The series will be produced by Ridley Scott, who directed “Blade Runner,” and Simon Mirren, the veteran TV producer of such series as “Criminal Minds” and nephew of actress Helen Mirren.
In the past few months, HBO has begun pouring tens of millions into its risqué sister operation — know as “Skinemax” among its fans — to turn it into an action channel by using high-impact original series in primetime.
Primetime hours on Cinemax were, until now, devoted to Hollywood movies. In fact, the channel started in 1980 purely for movie buffs.
But in the years since then, it has become best known for the racy skin flicks it shows after 11 p.m. with titles like “Co-Ed Confidential: When Virgins Attack” and “Hotel Erotica Cabo: Primal Urge.”
The push to revamp Cinemax as an action channel is not expected to affect its naughty — and highly profitable — late-night lineup.
“The Sector” will be the third new series HBO has bought in the last two months for Cinemax.
“The Transporter,” based on the very successful French movie franchise about a criminal facilitator who will carry anyone or anything to a designated drop off — no questions asked — for the right price, is set to start filming shortly, sources say.
It will likely be ready to debut sometime this fall.
Another series, “Strike Back,” about an American special forces operative who teams up with the British military to stop terrorists, is set to start this summer.
These are the first original shows HBO has put on Cinemax in primetime as part of a quiet decision made last year to build on what, in TV terms, amounts to the undeveloped property next door.