FX had a critical darling on its hands with 2010’s “Terriers,” but the short-lived series could have been a lot different if one casting decision had come through. “Top Gun: Maverick” star Val Kilmer nearly headlined the Rotten Tomatoes-approved favorite, but it was never quite meant to be. The show’s creator discussed why that was, also revealing that “Fight Club” and “The Social Network” director David Fincher almost came aboard as well.
Executive producer Shawn Ryan looked back on “Terriers” with The Television Academy to commemorate the show’s 15th anniversary in 2025. For his part, Ryan still considers the long-canceled “Terriers” to be “special,” suggesting that the subtly excellent series could have been a bigger hit if Kilmer had ended up signing on. He and co-showrunner Ted Griffin actually got to sit down with Kilmer to lay out their vision for the series, with Ryan’s past TV work helping to open the door for the encounter.
Ryan explained, “I guess we had enough juice from my work on ‘The Shield’ — and Ted’s work as a screenwriter in features — that we got a meeting.” That would be all they got, but the idea of a star as big as Kilmer on a television show at that time was surprising enough.
Terriers didn’t get Val Kilmer, but TV acting has changed since then
In today’s entertainment landscape, it’s not uncommon to see major movie stars make their way to TV or streaming. But “Terriers” aired at a time when there was a more rigid separation between television actors and those that worked almost exclusively on the big screen. As Shawn Ryan told the Television Academy, “This was before the time when actors predominantly known for feature film work could and would do television.”
Still, Ryan certainly wasn’t looking that gift horse in the mouth when the opportunity to meet with Kilmer came into his inbox, and he and Griffin just decided to put their best foot forward. “Val wasn’t really ready to do TV, I think, at that point,” Ryan told the Academy. “I think there was still a perception that that was a step you took down because your career had sort of dissipated. So I wasn’t surprised by that. I don’t want this to come across as any sort of slight toward Donal Logue, who was the perfect Hank, but we were encouraged to take a few swings.”
Loque ended up serving very capably as Hank, and while critics and audiences really enjoyed “Terriers,” it only lasted one season on FX. Maybe the injection of star power would have helped. But coupled with the fact that this is before the well-documented health issues that ended Kilmer’s life at 65, it’s a minor miracle he even agreed to take the meeting. Still, the team behind the FX show was just grateful to have him even hear a pitch. His appraisal may have even helped reinforce their thinking that the show could really be successful, given the right opportunity.
