FX Developing Series Based on New Yorker Article on Park Rescue Volunteers
7 reported
FX has secured the rights to develop a series based on a New Yorker article about a volunteer rescue squad at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, according to sources who spoke exclusively to Variety. The article, titled “The Call of the Wild” by Paige Williams, was also published online in January 2026 as “The Backcountry Rescue Squad at America’s Busiest National Park.” It details the work of a group of volunteers known as BUSAR (Backcountry Unit Search and Rescue), who assist park rangers in rescuing visitors who become lost or injured in remote areas. The project is in early development with no writer currently attached. Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson will executive produce via Color Force, with The New Yorker Studios also executive producing. FX Productions, where Color Force is under an overall deal, will produce. Reps for FX declined to comment.
What’s reported
FX secured rights to develop a series based on the New Yorker article “The Call of the Wild” by Paige Williams.
The article was also published online in January 2026 as “The Backcountry Rescue Squad at America’s Busiest National Park.”
The article details the work of BUSAR (Backcountry Unit Search and Rescue), volunteers who assist park rangers at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
No writer is currently attached to the project.
Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson will executive produce via Color Force, with The New Yorker Studios also executive producing.
FX Productions, where Color Force is under an overall deal, will produce.
Reps for FX declined to comment.
Key figures
Paige Williams (author of the New Yorker article)
Nina Jacobson (executive producer via Color Force)
Brad Simpson (executive producer via Color Force)
Sources: Variety
