In a competitive situation, FX has secured the rights to develop a series based on the New Yorker article “The Call of the Wild” by Paige Williams, Variety has learned exclusively from sources.
Also published online in January 2026 under the title “The Backcountry Rescue Squad at America’s Busiest National Park,” the article details the work of a group of volunteers who support park rangers in rescuing visitors at the the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Known as BUSAR (Backcountry Unit Search and Rescue), the team of trained outdoor athletes assist in the search and rescue of park visitors who become lost or injured in remote areas.
As the project is in the early stages of development, no writer is currently attached. Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson will executive produce via Color Force, with The New Yorker Studios also executive producing. FX Productions, where Color Force is under an overall deal, will produce.
Reps for FX declined to comment.
Should the project go to series, it would be the latest in Jacobson and Simpson’s extensive relationship with FX. Their company has produced a string of hit, critically-acclaimed series for the basic cabler.
Among the titles they have produced is the “American Crime Story” franchise, which has netted 17 Emmy wins over three seasons. The first installment was “The People v. OJ Simpson” in 2016, followed by “The Assassination of Gianni Versace” in 2018 and “Impeachment” — about the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal — in 2021.
Other Color Force titles at FX have included the groundbreaking drama series “Pose,” which ran for three seasons and featured the largest transgender cast ever assembled for a scripted TV series. That show won numerous awards, including four Emmys and the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama.
Most recently, Color Force has produced “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez” and “Love Story,” the first season of which focused on the relationship between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. The latter show recently received seven Emmy nominations, including one for outstanding limited or anthology series.
Color Force is repped by CAA.