Knight Rider Goes Into Shop to Avoid Junkyard
NBC Photo: Mitchell Haaseth
Somebody put out an APB for the Hoff, his services might be required soon.
With ratings sputtering, producers of NBC's Knight Rider 2.0 are putting the talking-car show into the garage for a major overhaul that includes eliminating three series regulars.
Gone are Sydney Tamiia "Daughter of Sidney" Poitier, Yancey Arias and Bruce Davison, whose contracts were not renewed past Knight Rider's initial 13-episode order, per the Hollywood Reporter.
The show will move forward focusing on the remaining five characters, Mike Traceur (Justin Bruening), Sarah (Deanna Russo), Billy (Paul Campbell), Zoe (Smith Cho) and K.I.T.T., voiced by Val Kilmer.
"It's a reboot," executive producer/show runner Gary Scott Thompson tells the trade. "We're moving away from the terrorist-of-the-week formula and closer to the original, making it a show about a man and his car going out and helping more regular people, everymen."
No word whether NBC plans to bring back David Hasselhoff to reprise his iconic role as KITT's original partner, Michael Knight. But expect a slew of guest stars to be announced soon in hopes of drawing more viewers.
One thing that won't change, however, will be the Shelby Mustang as the chatterbox automotive costar.
The new Knight Rider 2.0 premiered last February as a two-hour movie (with a cameo by Hasselhoff) to good ratings, before joining the network's Wednesday night lineup this fall. But last week's episode only drew 5.1 million viewers, down from the 7.4 million who watched the season premiere in September.
Despite the sagging ratings, NBC has expressed faith in Knight Rider, recently picking up the show for a full season.
Now we'll see whether KITT and crew manage to rev things up or wind up in the proverbial scrap heap.
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