Knight Rider Returns

Remember K.I.T.T.? – a.k.a. the Knight Industries Three Thousand, and simply the coolest crime-fighting car ever created? Well, it’s back in this high-octane, zappy sequel to the iconic ‘80s original. And, OK, this time things are a little different. It might not have The Hoff at the wheel (although he does make a cameo in the pilot episode) and it’s a 2008 Ford Shelby Mustang rather than a TransAm Pontiac, but now K.I.T.T.’s an even bigger beast in the fight against crime – and it’s got a new ‘voice’: superstar VAL KILMER!  What’s more, it’s undergone a complete revamp from its predecessor. This K.I.T.T.’s certainly got ‘eat my dirt’ written all over it in very big letters. Equipped with Artificial Intelligence, K.I.T.T. is now capable of hacking into almost any security system and has the weapons capability of a jet fighter. It can also morph into the shape of other vehicles and uses sophisticated holographic imagery to elude all manner of villains.

So, sorry, Hoff: this one’ll leave you standing in the gutter! And along with all that state-of-the-art weaponry and that extra need for speed, it’s also got that other essential ingredient: sexual tension. Because behind the wheel is sexy young lead character Mike Traceur (JUSTIN BRUENING – ALL MY CHILDREN). Distracting Mike from all that crime-fighting is Sarah Graiman (DEANNA RUSSO -THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS), the gorgeous daughter of K.I.T.T.’s creator Charles Graiman (who’s played by sci-fi stalwart BRUCE DAVISON – X-MEN). And the source of all that sexual tension? Well, let’s just say that Mike and Sarah have a ‘history’…

Knight Rider Featurette:

KNIGHT RIDER also stars SYDNEY TAMIIA POITIER (daughter of Hollywood legend Sidney and star of VERONICA MARS) as FBI agent Carrie Rivai, YANCEY ARIAS (KINGPIN) as FBI Agent Alex Torres, and PAUL CAMPBELL (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) and SMITH CHO (FIRED UP!) as Billy Morgan and Zoe Chae, the techie support crew. Based on characters originally created by GLEN LARSON, the 17-episode KNIGHT RIDER comes from NBC Universal Television Distribution. The executive producers include DOUG LIMAN (director of THE BOURNE IDENTITY and the Brangelina vehicle MR AND MRS SMITH), GARY SCOTT THOMPSON (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS) and DAVID BARTIS (HEIST, THE O.C.).

David Hasselhof Interview:

The series kicks off with a feature-length pilot episode (May 12), in which both K.I.T.T. and ex-soldier Mike Traceur are reborn for a new generation as they join forces to fight crime – stand by for that VERY SPECIAL mystery guest-star. In the second episode, ‘A Knight in Shining Armour’ (May 19), Mike comes face-to-face with both his past and an enigma called ‘The Package’ – a man with specially encoded and very valuable DNA. In ‘Journey to the End of the Knight’ (May 26), Mike goes undercover as a street racer to take down a gang that’s smuggling illegal weapons.

Knight Rider Trailer:

Knight Rider Episode 1 (Feature Length) – Tuesday 12 May at 8pm – SCI FI channel
Knight Rider Episode 2 (half hour length) – Tuesday 19 May at 8pm – SCI FI channel