USA drama ‘Shooter’ debut delayed after real-life shootings

USA Network’s sniper drama Shooter will delay its premiere by a week after the recent attack in Dallas that left five police officers dead, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The first episode of the new programme, which opens with the sound of a gunshot and real-life images of historical incidents of gun violence, was scheduled to air on America’s US network on 19 July (16), but executives have pushed the premiere back a week in light of the Texas tragedy.

Following last week’s devastating sniper attack in Dallas, which left five police officers dead, the USA Network has made a decision to delay the launch of a new series about a military sniper.

Gunfire broke out in Downtown Dallas on the evening of July 7 as hundreds of protesters gathered to demonstrate against the fatal police shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in St. Paul, Minnesota. Police ended a standoff with Johnson by killing him with a robot-delivered explosive device.

The new TV show, based on Antoine Fuqua’s 2007 movie starring Mark Wahlberg, features Ryan Phillippe as Bob Lee Swagger, a retired sniper wrongfully accused of an assassination. The show follows Phillippe and Omar Epps as a United States veteran who is trying to clear his name after being wrongly accused. This military veteran then has to try to clear his name.

Paramount TV and Universal Cable Productions put the series together naming Wahlberg as executive producer.

USA Network has partnered with veterans’ groups and is “Got Your 6″-certified as a program that portrays veterans both accurately and sensitively”.

Shooter becomes the latest television series to be held back following a real-life tragedy.

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