Vin Diesel has spent a quarter-century guarding Fast & Furious as a family business, on screen and off, and until now the saga’s live-action story has lived only in cinemas. By his own account, the decisive factor in moving it to television was not a pitch or a showrunner but an org chart: once the executive who runs Universal’s film slate also took charge of NBCUniversal’s TV operation, the franchise’s star decided the characters were safe to cross over.

As Deadline first reported, Peacock has greenlit the first television series built on the franchise, which has grossed more than seven billion dollars worldwide. Mike Daniels and Wolfe Coleman will write the show and serve as co-showrunners, with Diesel executive producing for Universal Television.

Diesel unveiled the project at NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation in New York, and he has been explicit about what changed his mind: Universal Studios chief Donna Langley adding oversight of the company’s television business last year. “That’s when I knew that the integrity of the characters, the international appeal, what makes us all feel like family will be protected in the TV space,” he said.

The quote explains the shape of the deal, which keeps the franchise inside the family in a literal corporate sense: a Universal Television production for NBCUniversal’s own streamer, steered by the saga’s longtime custodians. Alongside Daniels, Coleman and Diesel, the producers include One Race’s Sam Vincent, Original Film’s Neal H. Moritz — a producer on the franchise since the first film — and Pavun Shetty, plus Jeff Kirschenbaum and Chris Morgan, the screenwriter behind most of the sequels. The brand has visited the small screen once before, with the animated Fast & Furious Spy Racers on Netflix; this time the series stays on the parent company’s platform.

The showrunners bring a résumé weighted toward cop and crime drama. Daniels recently executive produced Peacock’s Ponies and has worked on Shades of Blue, Sons of Anarchy and NBC’s upcoming The Rockford Files reboot. Coleman executive produced 9-1-1: Lone Star and also worked on Shades of Blue.

The series is set to premiere in 2028, the same year Fast Forever, the eleventh and final film, is due in theaters on March 17. Diesel first announced the show among a slate of projects at the upfront in May, and the greenlight lands as NBCUniversal marks the franchise’s 25th anniversary. It began in 2001 with The Fast and the Furious, starring Diesel as Dominic Toretto, Paul Walker as Brian O’Conner, Jordana Brewster as Mia and Michelle Rodriguez as Letty.

If both dates hold, the year the saga says goodbye in theaters will also be the year it starts over on a streamer.

Tags: ip-strategy, peacock, Vin Diesel, Donna Langley, Universal Television