"Rex is Not Your Lawyer" Information Page

Someone once asked: "Wonder if you've heard anything about the reason behind Rex not being picked up? Some fans were speculating DT told NBC he was no longer interested, the week before Upfronts, which IMO seems unlikely, but maybe possible?"

In a word?  No.

 

That is one of several fan-originated rumors trying to find an excuse or blame someone for why the show didn't get picked up. 

 

Tennant was contractually obligated to "Rex" and had to follow through no matter what; in fact, that obligation led to him turning down the lead role in "Burke & Hare" and altered his plans for appearing in "The Retreat." The real reason for "Rex" being dismissed was due to the glut of new legal shows hitting the air on several different networks this fall--something reinforced recently by an E! article, "Crime Wave Sweeps NBC's Fall Lineup in Undercovers, Chase, Outlaw & LOLA."  It pretty much came to a showdown between "Rex" and "Outlaw," and NBC went with the Jimmy Smits show... which lasted three episodes before being taken off the air.

Tennant auditioned and signed contracts for both "Rex" and "Burke & Hare" in late Summer/early Fall of 2009. If NBC had stuck by its original plans to put "Rex" on in Fall 2010, there would have been plenty of time for Tennant to shoot the pilot in December 2009, go to the U.K. to complete "Burke & Hare," and then return to Los Angeles to start on "Rex" six weeks later. However, the network altered its plans; NBC-TV played with, then abandoned, the idea to "fast-track" the show--which would have meant showing "Rex" in Spring or Summer 2010, with filming to commence in January 2010. Thus, Tennant was forced to withdraw from "Burke & Hare" due to the unexpected scheduling conflict, even though (as things turned out) he could have appeaered in "Burke & Hare" without a problem.

To cover any other rumors...

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1. David Tennant's accent. A lot of fan speculation focused on David Tennant's still-improving American accent at the time of filming, and untrue/unfounded rumors about the series being cancelled because of it circulated as fans sought yet another excuse for "Rex is Not Your Lawyer" not being accepted for further production. In reality, it would've been easy for the network to hire a new lead actor if they didn't approve of his performance. The show was cancelled due to the aforementioned issues, not because of his accent (so let it go, already);

2. "Love on the Murder Mile" - "Love on the Murder Mile" has been in the early pre-production stage for years, and there has been no indication that David Tennant has even signed a contract to act in it--there was only the initial journalistic hype (hope?) of the film reuniting Tennant and Billie Piper back in 2009. The project was then slated to be directed by Laurence Fox, husband of Billie Piper, and produced by Robin Fox, Laurence's brother;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This intended motion picture version was based on a 2007 comedy short titled "Love On The Murder Mile," which was made for "Film 4" and directed by Douglas Hodge. One of the actresses in the 2007 production was Lily Cole, who played Polly in "St. Trinian's." Other crew members on the project were Sam Fox (Producer), Simon Bysshe (Second Boom/Assistant), Ben Smithard (D.O.P.), Charles E. Northam (A.D.) and Jamie Gambell (Sound Mixer);

3. "Doctor Who: The Movie" - NO, David Tennant is NOT going to be The Doctor in a motion picture. Rumors have circulated about "Doctor Who: The Movie" for years, with the most recent rumor having The Doctor played by Johnny Depp. However, the BBC insists there are no such movie plans in existence;

4. "Cheerful Weather for the Wedding" - NO, David Tennant is NOT in this film, either. The film script, directed by Donald Rice (who wrote and directed the short film "Traffic Warden" with Tennant in 2004), was based on a 1932 novel by Julia Strachey. InBaseLine put the alleged release date as "2010," however some online reports mentioned this was a possible role for Tennant as far back as 2006 (Screen Daily), or as something to be shot "in the spring" after Tennant's run in "Doctor Who." It never happened.  Sinead Cusack, Emily Blunt and Tennant were a few of the names that various internet sources linked to this potential project. IndieWire.com reported, "shooting is underway... [with] Luke Treadway, Felicity Jones, Mackenzie Crook and Elizabeth McGovern." The production shot in December 2010 in Wiltshire, and was released in 2013;

5. "Fright Night II: New Blood" - although a sequel to the 2011 film was released in 2013, "Fright Night II: New Blood" did not include David Tennant or any of the other cast members; Canadian actor Sean Power took over as Peter Vincent. In the 2011 remake of the 1980s film classic, David Tennant played Peter Vincent, a Las Vegas stage magician who helped Charlie Brewster (Yelchin) conquer the vampire next door, Jerry (Colin Farrell); the 3-D "Fright Night" remake was released in August 2011 in the U.S. and September 2011 in the U.K. 

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In terms of promotional posters for "Fright Night," there was a Russian version (Дэвид Теннант "Ночь страха" or "The Night of Fear"), the Spanish version ("Noche de Miedo"), an Italian version ("Il Vampiro della Porta Accanto") and a French version.  [Note that the French version (Poster #3) has "Fright Night" in the corner but actually goes by the title, "Vampire, vous avez dit vampire?"]  In Romania, the film was called "Noapte de Groază."  In the Ukraine, "Fright Night" is "Нічка жахів."  In Japanese, it's "フライトナイト" and David Tennant (デヴィッド・テナント) is Peter Vincent (ピーター ビンセント).