J.J. Abrams project officially at NBC

By Nellie Andreeva

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - It's official: NBC is in the J.J. Abrams business.

The network has closed a deal with Warner Bros. and Abrams' Bad Robot production company for a spy drama the "Star Trek" director co-wrote with Josh Reims.

The spec script sparked a bidding war when it hit the marketplace last week, with ABC, NBC and CBS all in hot pursuit until NBC clinched a deal Wednesday night, handing the drama a pilot commitment with a big penalty attached if it is not produced.

The show, which revolves around two spies working together who also are husband and wife, returns Abrams to the spy arena, which he mined with his ABC series "Alias."

It marks Abrams' first collaboration with NBC where the potential series could join the spy comedy-drama "Chuck." Reims first worked with Abrams on his WB Network series "Felicity" and was an executive producer alongside him on ABC's "What About Brian."

(Editing by DGoodman at Reuters)