Over There The Battle Begins (Series Pilot)

Steven Bocho, the Emmy-winning producer responsible for such gritty television programming as NYPD BLUE and HILL STREET BLUES, turns his attentions to the conflict in Iraq for his series OVER THERE. Co-producer and writer Chris Gerolmo (MISSISSIPPI BURNING) directs this pilot for the FX channel. A non-partisan view of the experience of war, the show follows a team of seven American soldiers stationed in Iraq, all of whom are on their first tour of duty, and are reporting to Sergeant Scream (Eric Palladino, ER). The show also examines the effects of war on the families the soldiers have left behind. Avoiding politics in favor of an honest portrait of the war itself, the series is a first in that it addresses a conflict in which the U.S. was still engaged at the time of airing.