The Scoop On Snoops

From the creator of Chicago Hope: Unadulterated escapism!

By TYLER MCCLEOD Calgary Sun

The new fall shows are making their rounds and Snoops, the new creation from mega-producer David E. Kelley, is... um, well, not what you'd expect from mega-producer David E. Kelley.

It definitely feels different from Kelley's other shows Ally McBeal, The Practice, Picket Fences and Chicago Hope.

"Snoops is designed to be escapist fare, but what was missing for me in the pilot so far is it felt a little cold," Kelley admitted this week at the Banff Television Festival.

"I think the characters and the reason they do what they do has to emerge better. That will probably be the bulk of what were working on."

The story has Gina Gershon as a cutting-edge private eye who operates with a multi-million budget, thanks to a generous benefactor.

"The thing about series television is it has to discover itself as it goes along," Kelley says, citing Ally as an example.

"I've always tinkered and changed pilots. The pilot for Ally McBeal at this stage of production was, I think, only 32 minutes and the world therefore concluded it was a bust."

Blackhawks fans might like Snoops.

The name of the detective agency in the new series from Kelley, son of former Penguins president Jack Kelley? Glenn Hall, Inc