Justin Hartley to Lead CBS Drama Pilot The Never Game

Justin Hartley is looking to the future when This Is Us wraps its six-season run.

CBS announced today that award-winning actor Justin Hartley will star in and executive produce the drama pilot The Never Game, which has a pilot production commitment.

Ken Olin is an executive producer and will direct the pilot from a script by executive producer Michael Cooney. 20th Television is producing the project.

Based on the bestselling novel by Jeffrey Deaver, The Never Game features Hartley as lone-wolf survivalist Colter Shaw, who roams the country as a “reward seeker,” using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens and law enforcement to solve all manner of mysteries while contending with his own fractured family.

“I couldn’t be happier that THE NEVER GAME is coming to CBS and that Colter Shaw will be brought to life on screen soon,” said Hartley.

“When I read the book, I was immediately drawn to the character and the story; developing this project with Ken has been a true labor of love. Colter is going to kick some serious ass, and I can’t wait for audiences to meet him.”

Additional casting will be announced in the coming weeks.

Actor, producer, and director Justin Hartley currently stars on NBC’s critically acclaimed series This Is Us. The series has long had a game plan about when it would wrap up, and the final season is set for midseason.

This will reportedly allow NBC to air the final season uninterrupted because the fifth season's momentum was ruined by the pandemic.

Hartley's performance as Kevin Pearson has garnered multiple Critics Choice Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2019, 2020, and 2021).

Additionally, Hartley and his cast members won back-to-back SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in both 2018 and 2019.

Also, Hartley directed an episode of This Is Us Season 4, so it's possible he could step behind the camera on his new project.

This sounds like an interesting follow-up to This Is Us for the star, and it's nice to know Hartley might not be off our screens for very long.

The entire cast of This Is Us will likely be fielding offers from several new projects. They're coming off one of the most successful shows of the last decade.