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‘Justified’ Revival: Here’s Which Elmore Leonard Story the Show Is Adapting

Get ready, “Justified” fans, to see U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens return to your screens in a new revival series by FX.

“Justified” star Timothy Olyphant returns to play Givens. Though, no other original cast members have been attached to the new series. The flagship show ended in 2015 after six seasons, though fans always hoped to see it return to the small screen.

Now, their wish has been granted. FX is currently working on adapting one of author Elmore Leonard’s books for the new series. The revival will be titled “Justified: City Primeval,” per Variety. The “City Primeval” book, published in 1980, actually doesn’t feature Givens in it. But we know he’ll fit right into the storyline from the popular Detroit-based thriller.

‘Justified: City Primeval’ Adapts Different Elmore Leonard Story

“City Primeval” centers around Clement Mansell, a “crazed killer” who escaped justice thanks to his “crafty looker” of a lawyer. Now, he’s out for blood again in the streets of Detroit. In the book, it’s Homicide Detective Raymond Cruz who takes on the Oklahoma Wildman. But for the new “Justified” show, it sounds like Givens will go toe-to-toe with Mansell.

In the book synopsis, they say that whoever takes on Mansell will also have to comprise the rules in order to catch him and put him away for good. Will Givens be strong enough to do what has to be done? We’ll have to wait and see.

Synposis

Here’s the full synopsis for “Justified: City Primeval,” provided by Variety:

“Having left the hollers of Kentucky eight years ago, Raylan Givens now lives in Miami, a walking anachronism balancing his life as a U.S. Marshal and part-time father of a 14-year-old girl. His hair is grayer, his hat is dirtier, and the road in front of him is suddenly a lot shorter than the road behind.

“A chance encounter on a desolate Florida highway sends him to Detroit. There he crosses paths with Clement Mansell, a.k.a. The Oklahoma Wildman, a violent, sociopathic desperado who’s already slipped through the fingers of Detroit’s finest once and aims to do so again.

“Mansell’s lawyer, formidable Motor City native Carolyn Wilder, has every intention of representing her client, even as she finds herself caught in between cop and criminal, with her own game afoot as well. These three characters set out on a collision course in classic Elmore Leonard fashion to see who makes it out of the City Primeval alive.”

It sounds like this Carolyn Wilder will fill the role of the “crafty” lawyer from the original book. For the show, she sounds morally conflicted and complex, which should be interesting to see.

Unfortunately, we don’t know when the new “Justified” show is set to air. But it’s encouraging to see that the project is underway.