After three successful movies starring Liam Neeson, filmmaker Luc Besson is taking the Bryan Mills character to the small screen with a new Taken TV series, debuting Monday, February 27 at 10 PM ET on NBC. Today we have the first trailer, which reveals the personal tragedy that leads Bryan Mills (Clive Standen) to be recruited into the CIA. While traveling to visit his parents with his sister, Bryan Mills' train is attacked by gunman, which sets him on a path to become the character fans have grown to love from the movie series.
From executive producer Luc Besson (Taken, The Fifth Element) comes a modern-day edge-of-your-seat thriller that follows the origin story of younger, hungrier former Green Beret Bryan Mills (Clive Standen, Vikings) as he deals with a personal tragedy that shakes his world. As he fights to overcome the trauma of the incident and exact revenge, Mills is pulled into a career as a deadly CIA operative, a job that awakens his very particular, and very dangerous, set of skills. In 30 years, this character is destined to become the Bryan Mills that we've come to love from the Taken films.
The cast includes Jennifer Beals, Gaius Charles, Brooklyn Sudano, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Michael Irby, James Landry Hébert and Jose Pablo Cantillo. Alexander Cary serves as writer and executive producer. Luc Besson, Matthew Gross, Edouard de Vésinne, Thomas Anargyros and director Alex Graves also executive produce for NBC.
The first Taken movie starring Liam Neeson was a huge surprise hit in January 2009, taking in $145 million domestically and $226.8 million worldwide, from just a $25 million production budget. Oddly enough, none of the sequels managed to top the first movie's domestic gross, but they became even bigger hits internationally. 2012's Taken 2 took in $139.8 million domestically and $236.2 million internationally, for a worldwide tally of $376.1 million, from a $45 million budget. Last year's Taken 3 closed out the trilogy with $89.2 million domestic and $237.2 million internationally for a global total of $326.4 million, from a $48 million budget.
The first season of Taken will be bolstered by airing on Monday nights at 10 PM, with NBC's reality powerhouse The Voice serving as it's lead-in. NBC's hit freshman series Timeless currently occupies the Monday 10 PM time slot, with the show's first season recently extended to 16 episodes. Timeless' final six episodes will air on consecutive Monday's throughout January and February, before Taken takes over this coveted time slot. Take a look at the first trailer for Taken below.
