John Grisham's 'The Firm' To Become TV Show

John Grisham is probably the most well known and best loved author of legal thrillers in modern fiction. He's written over 20 books, and quite a few of them have been turned into successful movies. The first of Grisham's works to be put on film was "The Firm" in 1993. The adaptation of Grisham's book of the same name became a massive hit and helped cement the author's standing in popular culture.

Now, almost 20 years later, the Hollywood Reporter has broken the story that NBC is in negotiations to pick up a full 22 episode season of a television show based on the property.

In the film version of the book, Tom Cruise played Mitch McDeere, a hot shot young lawyer fresh out of law school with a bright future ahead of him. He landed a coveted position at a prestigious law firm and found himself under the tutelage of Avery Tolar, played by Gene Hackman.

However, Mitch was soon approached by an FBI agent, portrayed by Ed Harris, who revealed that the firm he's working for had deep rooted ties to organized crime. Mitch then had to scramble to keep himself and his wife, played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, safe.

Interestingly, the story in the Hollywood Reporter indicates that the series wouldn't taking place during Mitch's time at the firm. Instead, the show would actually be set some 10 years later, when Mitch is emerging from witness protection. So the TV show would in fact act as a sequel to the film and the book.

Lukas Reiter, who's worked on such shows as "The Practice" and "Law & Order," wrote the two-hour pilot script that the series will be based upon. That NBC is already negotiating for a full season is rather unusual, since the pilot episode has yet to be shot. In fact, the project doesn't even have a cast yet.

The fact that the show is likely to receive a full season order sight unseen speaks both of the faith NBC has in the property and most likely a strong pilot script as well. Even if the network does not pick up the show, it will still be filmed, as it has already been sold to over 125 territories worldwide. Should NBC pass, it seems likely that another network would pick up and air the show.

It's worth noting that this is not the first time one of Grisham's novels has been adapted to the small screen. In 1995, "John Grisham's The Client" premiered on CBS. The show was based off of the successful book and film "The Client" and starred JoBeth Williams and John Heard. While the show has its fans even to this day, it only lasted for one season and is not highly regarded.

It seemed to suffer from being created too soon after the film. Only a year before, audiences had seen Susan Saradon, in an Oscar-nominated role, play opposite Tommy Lee Jones and many felt that the TV version was a pale imitation. With so much time having passed since "The Firm," the show should be able to stand on its own feet and avoid too much comparison.

While there are many successful police shows currently on the air, the number of successful legal dramas has been dwindling over the years. Many staples of the genre have ended their runs, notably the cancellation of "Law & Order" in 2010, and newer shows in this vein have been struggling for audience numbers. This may be the perfect environment for "The Firm" to swoop in and pick up the slack. While nothing is set in stone yet, it is expected that filming will begin in July, which would allow the show to be able to air with the new fall season.