CBS has given a pilot order to “Einstein” from “Monk” creator Andy Breckman. Breckman adapts “Einstein” from a German format; the show centers on Albert Einstein’s great-grandson – described as ‘brilliant but directionless’. The character is a tenured professor who gets into trouble with the law – and for retribution, he must help a local police detective solve her cases.
Breckman is writer/executive producer on the project, while Randy Zisk is director/executive producer. The series, from CBS Studios, will also be executive produced by Tariq Jalil; Rose Hughes, Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia and Laura Beetz (Seven One Studios International).
The original “Einstein” began life in 2015 as a TV movie starring Tom Beck (“Alarm for Cobra 11”) and from writers Martin Ritzenhoff and Matthias Dinter. Ritzenhoff and Dinter then turned it into a series through Zeitsprung Pictures; the show lasted three seasons and was distributed to more than 100 territories.
An ‘Einstein’ adaptation has been in the pipeline for years. Michael Reisz and Carol Mendelsohn tried one for NBC in 2018, and then Breckman and Zisk developed a version for CBS in 2019, but that ultimately fell through. The Eye tried again in 2020 with a gender-swapped version of Lauren Gussis and Corinne Brinkerhoff, but that also ultimately failed to progress.
Here was the original logline for the German show: “As the youngest professor to ever teach theoretical physics at his university, Felix is a genius. However, life has its challenges: Felix is terminally ill with hereditary Huntington’s disease, and he faces prison time when he is accused of stealing illegal stimulants to help manage his condition. He is rescued from prison when the police realize that his genius could help them solve some of their most complex cases and recruit him as a police consultant. Together with the strong, smart Detective Elena, ‘Einstein’ the pair investigate a complex bank robbery that comes to light after the murder of a dog walker, the case of a suspected suicide, and discovers the truth behind the poisoning of a group. of seniors – all using the intelligence and innovation that Felix’s grandfather is famous for.”
The news comes a day after CBS also handed out a pilot order for the single-cam comedy “DMV,” as well as a writers’ room for the single-cam titled “Eternally Yours,” from the producers behind “Ghosts.”