casting couch

Rainn Wilson Recruited to Lead Backstrom at CBS

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 19: Actor Rainn Wilson arrives at the premiere of IFC Midnight's 'Super' at the Egyptian Theatre on March 21, 2011 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Rainn Wilson
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 19: Actor Rainn Wilson arrives at the premiere of IFC Midnight’s ‘Super’ at the Egyptian Theatre on March 21, 2011 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Rainn Wilson Photo: Jason Merritt/2011 Getty Images

After seeing his Dwight Schrute spinoff get turned into a half-hour installment of The Office instead of being picked up, Rainn Wilson has landed on his feet. Industry insiders confirm to Vulture that Wilson is set to star in CBS’s Backstrom, playing the “offensive, irascible Detective Everett Backstrom as he tries, and fails, to change his self-destructive behavior.” Based on a series of Swedish novels by Leif G.W. Persson, the show will also feature 24’s Dennis Haysbert. Bones creator Hart Hanson is on board as a writer and executive producer.

Rainn Wilson Recruited to Lead Backstrom at CBS