FX eyes rescue drama from New Yorker story on Smoky Mountains volunteers
FX has secured rights to develop a series about BUSAR, the volunteer rescue unit that aids rangers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
FX is looking to the backcountry for its next fact-based drama.
The network has won rights in a competitive situation to develop a series inspired by Paige Williams’ New Yorker piece “The Call of the Wild,” Variety reported, citing sources. The article was also published online in January 2026 as “The Backcountry Rescue Squad at America’s Busiest National Park.”
The piece follows a volunteer rescue team at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where trained outdoor athletes help park rangers find and assist visitors who are lost or hurt in remote terrain.
The unit is known as BUSAR, short for Backcountry Unit Search and Rescue, according to Variety. Its work centers on one of the country’s busiest national parks, which spans the North Carolina and Tennessee border in the Appalachian Mountains.
Early days for the project
The possible series is still at an early development stage, and no writer is attached, Variety reported.
Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson are set to executive produce through Color Force. The New Yorker Studios will also executive produce, with FX Productions producing. Color Force has an overall deal at FX Productions.
FX representatives declined to comment to Variety.
If it moves ahead, the project would extend a long run of FX work for Jacobson, Simpson and Color Force, whose recent slate has included several limited and anthology series for the network.
Color Force’s FX run
Color Force has been behind the “American Crime Story” franchise at FX, which has won 17 Emmys across three seasons, according to Variety. The series began with “The People v. O.J. Simpson” in 2016, followed by “The Assassination of Gianni Versace” in 2018 and “Impeachment,” focused on the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal, in 2021.
The company also produced “Pose” for FX. The drama ran for three seasons and, as Variety noted, featured the largest transgender cast assembled for a scripted television series. Its awards haul included four Emmys and a Golden Globe for best performance by an actress in a television series, drama.
More recently, Color Force produced “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez” and “Love Story.” Variety reported that the first season of “Love Story” focused on John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette and recently earned seven Emmy nominations, including outstanding limited or anthology series.
Color Force is represented by CAA, according to Variety.
The BUSAR project gives FX a wilderness rescue premise rooted in reported nonfiction: volunteers, rangers, injured visitors and the unforgiving corners of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For now, it remains a development play, with the next big clue likely to be who signs on to write it.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.