Projects I want to see: Daredevil TV show

One of my favorite writers, in any medium, is David E. Kelley. The volume of work, depth of character, and eagerness to address important, controversial issues is astonishing to me. With The Practice, Kelley sought to explore the complex morality of being a defense attorney and the effect it has on good people.

But it's hard for me to watch it without thinking "Man, a Daredevil TV show would be awesome." This show has much in common with the Daredevil comic. Both feature a handsome and self-destructive Irish Catholic criminal defense attorney trying to run an honest practice in the worst neighborhood of the city.

Now, there has been talk about doing another Daredevil movie in the style of Incredible Hulk and Punisher: War Zone (i.e. completely recast it and more or less ignore the last movie). Now, unless they hire Frank Miller to direct it (which is entirely possible), I don't think they should go this direction... and even if they do tap Frank Miller, they should still do the TV show.

Why? One, live-action prime time drama is a medium and genre that Marvel has yet to penetrate. Two, Daredevil (aside from the costume, perhaps) is uniquely suited to the constraints of television. He is a martial artist with no superpowers (other than super-senses, anyway). Three, it is a great way for Marvel to expose their other street level superheroes who may not have enough visibility to warrant their own movie. Four, the potential spin-off possibilities are numerous, as I will detail below.

The core of the show would be Matt Murdock (AKA Daredevil), his legal partner Foggy Nelson (played in the movie by Jon Favreau), and legal secretary Karen Page. Together they work at the law offices of Nelson & Murdock located in Hell's Kitchen in New York City.

But it is the supporting characters that would really make it work:

Luke Cage - Matt's first criminal case was a court appointed position to defend an accused murder. Matt lost the case, but managed to get him out of prison later on appeal. Luke now works as a private eye and Matt frequently uses him to gain background information on a case. Luke also works informally as a bodyguard for clients and employees alike for times when the law office is under siege.

Lt. Frank Castle - Special Forces Gulf War veteran, Frank Castle joined the force after his tour of duty was up and got married. But Frank never really got over the war and often he feels like he is fighting a new war. In the beginning of the show, he would be the Javert to Matt's Valjean chasing the vigilante Daredevil across rooftops. As the story progresses, Frank would become a well-intentioned, but dirty cop, planting and concealing evidence which pits him against defense attorney Matt Murdock. Of course, the turning point would be when Frank makes the wrong enemy and his family is brutally murdered. Then Frank takes Daredevil's lead and becomes The Punisher. (Potential spin-off number one.)

The Kingpin - This is a character you can hold in reserve for a season or two wherein you hear about him, but you never see him. Who is the Kingpin? Everyone wants to know, especially when he starts paying attention to Daredevil and Matt Murdock. In his civilian identity, Wilson Fisk leaves a large retainer for Matt Murdock to represent not only him, but many under his employment.

Ben Urich - In the comics, Ben Urich is a hardworking Bob Woodward-esque reporter who discovers Daredevil's identity, then buries it. Afterward, he helps Daredevil bring down the Kingpin. He would make a great addition to the cast by being able to both help and hinder Matt Murdock by reporting on him and his enemies.

Bullseye - Colin Farrell was the best part of the recent DD movie, by being a completely sympathetic psychopath. The only difference in a TV show is that he can kill regular characters... and almost certainly would.

Elektra - Another late addition to the show could be Matt's greatest mistake, Elektra the ninja assassin. In the comics, she replaced Bullseye as Kingpin's personal assassin percipitating multiple fights between her and Matt... as well as her and Bullseye. Of course, in this show there would be plenty of people to match her up with. (Second possible spin-off.)

Mary Walker - In the comics, she is Typhoid Mary, a multiple personality acquaintance of Daredevil's who often tries to kill him. I think they should cast her as a DA whose work slowly takes its toll on her already troubled mind until she adopts the persona of Typhoid Mary. Vigilante or villain, either way it would work.

Others - If the show was successful, you could slowly introduce other characters from the same superhero sub-genre including Danny Rand (AKA Iron Fist, multi-millionaire martial artist who teams up with Luke Cage in the comics), Marc Spector (AKA Moon Knight), Melvin Potter (AKA the Gladiator, reformed villain and friend of Matt's), and many, many more. Naturally, plenty of spin-off potential here as well. As for villains, you could populate it with every street level Marvel criminal who can't support a movie like the Owl, the Hood, Tombstone, Jigsaw, Hammerhead, Mr. Hyde...

Now, the only trick would be finding the right showrunner, but I'm sure a superhero legal drama would be a huge success if done well.