Shooter TV Series Premiere Pushed To Autumn

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Tue Jul 19, 2016 07:42AM

The TV spin-off of Mark Wahlberg´s film Shooter has been pushed to the autumn (16) due to the increase of gun violence in the U.S.The first episode of the new program, which opens with the sound of a gunshot and real-life images of historical incidents of gun violence, was scheduled to air on America´s USA network on 26 July (16), but bosses have decided to move the premiere to an unspecified date this autumn (16).
According to Variety, network executives moved the episode as deaths stemming from gun violence have hit headlines more frequently, including an incident in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Sunday (17Jul16), when a man went on a shooting rampage, killing three law officers and injuring three others.
In addition, the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of cops in two separate shooting incidents in early July (16), and the Dallas tragedy earlier this month (Jul16), when five police officials were shot and killed by a sniper while monitoring a Black Lives Matter rally, are all said to have influenced network bosses´ decision.
It was the Dallas incident which prompted USA chiefs to initially delay the Shooter premiere, which was originally scheduled to air on Tuesday (19Jul16).
At the time executives released a statement which read: "In light of recent tragic events and out of respect for the victims, their families and our viewers, we have decided to postpone the premiere date for the upcoming USA Network series Shooter to July 26."
The Shooter TV series - the small screen adaptation of Wahlberg´s 2007 action film - stars Ryan Phillippe as an ex-Marine sniper, wrongly accused of a crime, who is attempting to clear his name and return to his family.
Executive produced by Wahlberg, the series also stars Omar Epps and Tom Sizemore.