Courtney A. Kemp has a project about dirty cops in the works at HBO. The “Power” creator is joining forces with Lionsgate TV head of scripted Chris Selak to develop “Dirty Thirty” for the premium cable network, The Hollywood Reporter confirms.
Penned by Kemp, the potential series is set in present-day New York and is “inspired by the true story of a gang of bad cops operating out of New York’s 30th precinct in the 1990s. It begins as a tale of a cop family and ends as the chronicle of a crime wave infecting the highest levels of municipal government, corrupting the justice system and defining a city,” the source summarizes.
Kemp will exec produce and serve as showrunner if “Dirty Thirty” gets greenlit. The project is a co-production between Lionsgate TV and HBO. Kemp signed a development and production deal with Lionsgate last year.
Starz’s top-performing drama, “Power” tells the story of drug kingpin James “Ghost” St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick, “Middle of Nowhere”) and his attempts to go legit. The series’ fifth season wrapped up last fall. It will return for Season 6 later this year.
“When people ask me, ‘Tell me about how you create such strong female characters,’ I’m like, ‘Ask the guys that. Why they don’t. Why they choose not to,’” Kemp has said.
Before “Power,” Kemp worked as a writer and supervising producer on “The Good Wife,” where she earned Emmy and WGA Award nods. She also wrote for “The Bernie Mac Show,” among other series.
