Fox picks up 'Shots Fired' as event series

Racially charged shootings, a timely topic, trigger the events of a new Fox drama, Shots Fired.

The network Thursday announced that it will pick up the drama, which had been in development, as an event series for 2016. Sanaa Lathan (The Perfect Guy) will star the drama, which examines "the dangerous aftermath of racially charged shootings in a small town in Tennessee." Gina Prince-Bythewood (Beyond the Lights, The Secret Life of Bees) and Reggie Rock Bythewood (Beyond the Lights, Notorious) will serve as executive producers, along with Brian Grazer and Francie Calfo.

“Gina and Reggie have crafted a profoundly moving portrayal of a timely and sensitive issue that pervades our culture at this very moment,” Fox Entertainment president David Madden said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “This is not only an important story to tell, but also an explosive mystery-thriller, and we couldn’t be in better hands both with the creative team behind this, along with the very talented Sanaa Lathan leading the cast.”

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According to Fox, Lathan will play "an expert investigator who digs into the cases, alongside a special prosecutor sent to the town by the Department of Justice. The pair must navigate the media attention, public debate and the social unrest that comes with such volatile cases, as they seek justice before the divided town erupts."

Lathan earlier starred in Prince-Bythewood's Love & Basketball.