Producers behind Body of Proof addressed the creative reboot for the ABC Dana Delany starrer on Thursday at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour.
Following a second season that saw the medical drama part ways with a handful of regular cast members, producers decided to take the buzz from the two-part Contagion-typeepisode and channel that energy into season three with the addition of co-stars Mark Valley and Elyes Gabel.
"For season three, we decided to continue that momentum and make stories more thrilling and have more stakes," EP Matthew Gross told reporters, noting they wanted the series to be not just about solving a murder but also exploring law enforcement and preventing something from happening. "In doing so, we were leaning a bit not away from medical procedural but bringing up the law enforcement part of show."
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With the addition of Valley's Detective Tommy Sullivan, Delaney's Dr. Megan Hunt will have met her match as a former love interest from her past and bring the character's relationships into the office.
"Megan is a force to be reckoned with and people fall in line behind her," Gross said. "We wanted to create a character that would stand up to her … so that they could go head-to-head."
The cast additions, producers noted, aren't the only creative changes for the series, with a new composer, directors, editors and writers all boarding the show, including 24's Evan Katz as an EP.
"We're looking at every episode, even though there's a serialized component, we wanted to look at them as separate movies," EP Christopher Murphy said. "The stories are bigger, the stakes higher, it's more thrilling, it's more adventuresome."
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For his part, Valley joked that he's "been retooled" himself, and the series has a 24 feel to it. "Evan the way he writes, I feel there's a 24 clicker time on the bottom of the screen," he said.
Added Delaney: "It's more plot and forward-driven; there's a lot of emotion and depth," she said of an action-packed trailer that was screened for critics. "I feel like I should be in a cat suit some of the time; there's a lot more action."
Body of Proof returns Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 10 p.m. on ABC.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit
