In a competitive situation, FX has secured the rights to develop a series based on the New Yorker article “The Call of the Wild” by Paige Williams. Variety has learned exclusively from sources.

Also published online in January 2026 with the title “The field rescue team in America’s busiest national park,” the article details the work of a group of volunteers who support park rangers in rescuing visitors in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Known as BUSAR (Backcountry Search and Rescue Unit), the team of trained outdoor athletes assists in the search and rescue of park visitors who become lost or injured in remote areas.

As the project is in the early stages of development, there is currently no writer attached. Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson will executive produce through Color Force, and The New Yorker Studios will also executive produce. FX Productions, where Color Force has an overall deal, will produce.

FX representatives declined to comment.

If the project becomes a series, it would be the latest in Jacobson and Simpson’s long relationship with FX. His company has produced a number of successful and critically acclaimed series for the basic cabler.

Among the titles they have produced is the “American Crime Story” franchise, which has won 17 Emmy Awards in three seasons. The first installment was “The People Against OJ Simpson” in 2016, followed by “The Assassination of Gianni Versace” in 2018 and “Impeachment” (about the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal) in 2021.

Other Color Force titles on FX include the groundbreaking drama series “Pose,” which ran for three seasons and featured the largest transgender cast ever assembled for a scripted television series. That show won numerous awards, including four Emmy Awards and the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Drama Series.

Most recently, Color Force produced “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez” and “Love Story,” the first season of which focused on the relationship between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. The latter show recently received seven Emmy nominations, including one for outstanding limited or anthology series.

Color Force is represented by CAA.