NBC officially announces Knight Rider, new KITT unveiled!
by John Neff on Dec 12th 2007 at 2:56PM 
UPDATE: TV Squad has live coverage of the unveiling.
click either image for high-res gallery of the new KITT on Knight Rider
NBC held a press conference today officially announcing the return of Knight Rider to network TV. The new show will debut as a two-hour movie on February 17th with a cast that includes Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo, Sydney Tamiia Poitier and Bruce Davison. Also confirmed is the return of David Hasselhoff in the role of an elder Michael Knight. Finally, the character we care about most, KITT, has been officially confirmed as a Ford GT500KR. The voice of KITT will also be none other than Will Arnett, husband of Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler and ex-alum of the TV show Arrested Development.
There will actually be three versions of KITT in the show: a 540-hp standard version of the character named KITT Hero, a super high-speed version that's heavily modified for combat called KITT Attack (click here to view his body changes), and a driverless version called KITT Remote. According to NBC, KITT in the modern era is a supercomputer capable of hacking anything that plugs into a wall, and thanks to progress made in the area of nanotechnology, its body can shift both its shape and color.
Follow the jump for the official press release from NBC, including a brief rundown of the premier's storyline.
[Source: NBC]
PRESS RELEASE:
UPDATED 'KNIGHT RIDER' REVS UP TO RETURN TO NBC FOR SPECIAL TWO-HOUR MOVIE EVENT ON FEBRUARY 17 AS NEW KITT CAR IS REVEALED
BURBANK, Calif. - December 12, 2007 - As "Knight Rider" -- NBC's iconic 1980s television classic that became a runaway success, comes roaring back to life on the network with an updated sequel that will air as a two-hour movie event on Sunday, February 17 (9-11 p.m. ET) -- NBC unveiled the new customized KITT Ford Mustang to be featured in the series in a press event held at NBC's Burbank Studios today.
The movie stars Justin Bruening ("Cold Case," "All My Children"), Deanna Russo ("NCIS," "The Young and the Restless"), Sydney Tamiia Poitier ("Veronica Mars," "Grindhouse") and Bruce Davison ("Breach," "Close to Home"). In addition, David Hasselhoff (NBC's "America's Got Talent") -- who starred in the popular lead role as Michael Knight for four seasons during the original series -- returns as the same character in a special guest-star appearance. Will Arnett (NBC's "30 Rock," "Blades of Glory") will provide the voice of KITT.
Dave Bartis ("Heist," "The O.C.") and Doug Liman ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith," "The Bourne Identity") serve as executive producers.
NBC also has an arrangement with Ford Motor Company that provides for a unique content opportunity that makes the Ford Mustang one of the stars of the movie.
The three cars to be employed in the series include the KITT Hero -- a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR that is playing the part of the everyday Hero car with 540 horsepower; the KITT Attack -- a super high-speed version of the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR Hero car that transforms into Attack mode with the help of air-ride technology and specialized body parts -- and a KITT Remote, which is a driverless Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR version of the Hero vehicle.
As the original story resumes, the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) is absolutely the coolest car ever created: its supercomputer capable of hacking almost any system; its weapons systems efficient; and its body -- thanks to its creator's work and nanotechnology -- is capable of actually shifting shape and color. Plus, its artificial intelligence makes it the ideal crime-fighting partner: logical, precise and possessing infinite knowledge. It is the ultimate car -- and someone will be willing to do anything to obtain it.
Sarah Graiman is a 24-year old Ph.D candidate at Stanford University, following in her genius father Charles' (Davison) footsteps. But when men attempt to abduct her, Sarah receives a mysterious call from KITT warning her that he's a creation of Charles, who also invented the first KITT 25 years ago -- and that her father is in serious danger.
Sarah and KITT track down her best friend from childhood, Mike Tracer (Bruening), a 23-year-old ex-Army Ranger, whom Sarah hasn't seen since he left home at 18. Having served in Iraq, Mike is now jaded and lost and initially resistant. Eventually he agrees to help Sarah and the two set out to discover who's behind the attempt to procure KITT and find Charles. Along the way, Carrie Rivai (Poitier) plays the agile yet tough FBI agent who has a long-standing friendship with Charles and Sarah. Due to those ties, she is brought into the mix to help in the search.
David Andron is supervising producer and writer. Steve Shill ("Dexter," "The Tudors"), also a co-executive producer, directs the two-hour movie from Universal Media Studios and Dutch Oven Productions.
click either image for high-res gallery of the new KITT on Knight Rider
NBC held a press conference today officially announcing the return of Knight Rider to network TV. The new show will debut as a two-hour movie on February 17th with a cast that includes Justin Bruening, Deanna Russo, Sydney Tamiia Poitier and Bruce Davison. Also confirmed is the return of David Hasselhoff in the role of an elder Michael Knight. Finally, the character we care about most, KITT, has been officially confirmed as a Ford GT500KR. The voice of KITT will also be none other than Will Arnett, husband of Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler and ex-alum of the TV show Arrested Development.
There will actually be three versions of KITT in the show: a 540-hp standard version of the character named KITT Hero, a super high-speed version that's heavily modified for combat called KITT Attack (click here to view his body changes), and a driverless version called KITT Remote. According to NBC, KITT in the modern era is a supercomputer capable of hacking anything that plugs into a wall, and thanks to progress made in the area of nanotechnology, its body can shift both its shape and color.
Follow the jump for the official press release from NBC, including a brief rundown of the premier's storyline.
[Source: NBC]
Gallery: The new KITT - OFFICIAL PHOTOS
PRESS RELEASE:
UPDATED 'KNIGHT RIDER' REVS UP TO RETURN TO NBC FOR SPECIAL TWO-HOUR MOVIE EVENT ON FEBRUARY 17 AS NEW KITT CAR IS REVEALED
BURBANK, Calif. - December 12, 2007 - As "Knight Rider" -- NBC's iconic 1980s television classic that became a runaway success, comes roaring back to life on the network with an updated sequel that will air as a two-hour movie event on Sunday, February 17 (9-11 p.m. ET) -- NBC unveiled the new customized KITT Ford Mustang to be featured in the series in a press event held at NBC's Burbank Studios today.
The movie stars Justin Bruening ("Cold Case," "All My Children"), Deanna Russo ("NCIS," "The Young and the Restless"), Sydney Tamiia Poitier ("Veronica Mars," "Grindhouse") and Bruce Davison ("Breach," "Close to Home"). In addition, David Hasselhoff (NBC's "America's Got Talent") -- who starred in the popular lead role as Michael Knight for four seasons during the original series -- returns as the same character in a special guest-star appearance. Will Arnett (NBC's "30 Rock," "Blades of Glory") will provide the voice of KITT.
Dave Bartis ("Heist," "The O.C.") and Doug Liman ("Mr. and Mrs. Smith," "The Bourne Identity") serve as executive producers.
NBC also has an arrangement with Ford Motor Company that provides for a unique content opportunity that makes the Ford Mustang one of the stars of the movie.
The three cars to be employed in the series include the KITT Hero -- a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR that is playing the part of the everyday Hero car with 540 horsepower; the KITT Attack -- a super high-speed version of the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR Hero car that transforms into Attack mode with the help of air-ride technology and specialized body parts -- and a KITT Remote, which is a driverless Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR version of the Hero vehicle.
As the original story resumes, the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) is absolutely the coolest car ever created: its supercomputer capable of hacking almost any system; its weapons systems efficient; and its body -- thanks to its creator's work and nanotechnology -- is capable of actually shifting shape and color. Plus, its artificial intelligence makes it the ideal crime-fighting partner: logical, precise and possessing infinite knowledge. It is the ultimate car -- and someone will be willing to do anything to obtain it.
Sarah Graiman is a 24-year old Ph.D candidate at Stanford University, following in her genius father Charles' (Davison) footsteps. But when men attempt to abduct her, Sarah receives a mysterious call from KITT warning her that he's a creation of Charles, who also invented the first KITT 25 years ago -- and that her father is in serious danger.
Sarah and KITT track down her best friend from childhood, Mike Tracer (Bruening), a 23-year-old ex-Army Ranger, whom Sarah hasn't seen since he left home at 18. Having served in Iraq, Mike is now jaded and lost and initially resistant. Eventually he agrees to help Sarah and the two set out to discover who's behind the attempt to procure KITT and find Charles. Along the way, Carrie Rivai (Poitier) plays the agile yet tough FBI agent who has a long-standing friendship with Charles and Sarah. Due to those ties, she is brought into the mix to help in the search.
David Andron is supervising producer and writer. Steve Shill ("Dexter," "The Tudors"), also a co-executive producer, directs the two-hour movie from Universal Media Studios and Dutch Oven Productions.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 10)
Kourtney the Car Chick 9:11AM (1/31/2008)
Well, since it can shape shift , maybe next seasonit will change into the new Camaro bodystyle, with the hinted at Trans Am fasacia body kit. Depends on who wants to sponsor the show and provide enough vehicles to destroy. The sad thing is that all the stunts will probably be computer generated crap. If you liked it or not, at least the GRINDHOUSE film had REAL stunts and stuntmen !
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Chism13 11:26AM (1/31/2008)
Somebody slap me!!!!
WTF?
How can you go from a pontiac Trans Am to a
Damn MUSTANG???
Somebodys going to hell over this one!!!
Im a HUGH firebird fan so methinks im not even going to give this show a chance.....RERuns PLEASE!!!
Found On Road Dead!!! lol
Reply
David 4:20AM (2/06/2008)
What a load of crap, Please you could have used a 2002 WS6 or better yet the new ZR1 in black would have been great and would have blown that 60's looking peice of junk away. What makes it even more crazy is that Wing on the back what the heck, it looks like some droopy pants kids goy a hold on KITT. Yikes
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Alvin Boyett 7:12AM (2/15/2008)
Okay I admit K.I.T.T. should be far more sleek, and I've heard this one doesn't have Turbo Boost but that's a rumor not fact (yet anyway).
Mainly I am interested in the nano-technology part that helps shift shape and color. I am wondering to what extent can this be and if this is the aspect they borrowed from their inspiration they admit was TransFormers 2007?
Having hasslehoff as a guest appearance is a nice touch but Will Arnett is NOT K.I.T.T. It's VAL KILMER. I guess they changed that later after this article was posted.
Isn't the internet mostly dynamic now? Lets get those facts straight people!
If they're going to have a different person create K.I.T.T. they need to SPECIFY that they ONLY created the NEW Three-thousand model, and not the original that Wilton Knight first made. And on that note lets PLEASE get Michael to plug the Wilton Knight name and say "One Man Can Make A Difference" at least just ONCE.
Also it would be GREAT for later in the series to have William Daniels (the ORIGINAL K.I.T.T.) do a guest-shot as some remaining circuitry and voice module or something laying around and give the new Mike some advice or something... perhaps chide him cooly about how uncouth a Mustang is for the role.
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bonessparks 11:07AM (2/29/2008)
kitt is awsome
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Doug 12:28PM (2/18/2008)
My 5 year old loves the new K.I.T.T., but I can't say that show is appropriate for a child. The lurid and vulgar themes portrayed in the first few minutes of the show takes away from the original spirit of the show. I am outraged that Ford would allow swearing, callous murder and unconventional relationships in a family show.
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Jeremy 11:00PM (2/18/2008)
I don't care what you guys say The new Kitt is freaking SWEAT im glad they got away from the old fire-chicken Go Ford Baby!!!!!!!!
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Jeremy 10:59PM (2/18/2008)
Because Fire Chickens Are Gay!!! Like the idiots that drive them. Ford all the way!!!!!
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KnightRiderfan 11:46AM (3/02/2008)
what about a 2004 Pontiac GTO before the fancy exhaust and hood scoops? it'd still be the same make as the original (pontiac) and give the similar feel to the "persona" of kitt. a reasonably quick coupe that's mass produced and fairly inexpensive and yet still very cool. maybe add an STS turbo in the tail end to give it the similar sound effect of a turbine engine with some of the v8 rrumble to it? afterall it is still a vette heart under the hood. Though the new camero has a spot fot the scanner made into the top of the nose too and wouldn't be a bad choice, but a mustang? I love mustangs, but nothing about the blue oval screams Knight Rider to me, and it's hideous choice for kit to ahve big spoilers and crap like that.. he was supposed to be sleek and blend in somehwat aside from the scanner light in the nose.While I'm not a big fan of GM they still would work better than the pony. so no I'm not a mustang hater, but i'm a very big fan of the series before tkr showed up and it kinda tanked.
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Jake 2:25PM (3/02/2008)
what the hell were they thinking...A Mustang...ewww...they should have busted out the camo from transformers for KITT if they want to upgrade...
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D.J. 12:44AM (9/24/2008)
I just watched a preview for the show that shows KITT transforming from a mustang to an F-150! How ridiculous is that!!!!!
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D.J. 12:49AM (9/24/2008)
I would have been happier with Arnett, Val Kilmer sucks!!!!
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D.J. 12:51AM (9/24/2008)
They should have Daniels come back as KARR that would be too funny.
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Ghostwolf_8 12:54PM (2/25/2009)
I finally saw a few of these new knight rider shows. WTF were they thinking?!? At very least they could have gone back to the knight rider 2000 with the pontiac Banshee. That car was a cool replacement for the old kitt body. But this Ford is just wrong!! Also what is the deal with it changing into these other cars? There is no way you can get that monster sized pickup out of a pee wee mustang. The only things I liked so far is the way they re did the base and the new scanner design in kitts nose. The old kitt just had a but to much cylon look to it in the org kight rider.
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nissanfreak87 4:32PM (12/12/2007)
wow, those wheels, side vents and spoiler have riced that otherwise nice car out.
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boulderhorn 3:01PM (12/12/2007)
i think i just threwup a little
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0mega 3:03PM (12/12/2007)
you and me both dude, not the right car AT ALL for KITT, he was all pointy and fancy... this thing is too round but flat in the front... :(
Carlos 5:29PM (12/12/2007)
Really - A double wing???? WTF
Yes lets go vindicate all of those ridiculous Hondas with double wings on the trunk, a supra wing on the roof and lame pep-boys scoops taped all over the fenders and hood.
J.Crew 10:49PM (12/12/2007)
Yeah, I had the same reaction...
Didn't Autoblog just post something yesterday about the Mustang's sales numbers slipping? This ugly thing will only hurt the brand...especially after Ford puts out another dumb "special edition" dedicated to this retarded POS.
John R 6:37AM (12/13/2007)
Truth be told, there are a lot of riced out '95 mustangs runnin' around with the entire JC Whitney catalogue tacked on. If anyone is going to be vindicated, it'll be those guys.