EXCLUSIVE: Homeland executive producer Howard Gordon and writer Josh Friedman have teamed for a high-concept drama project, which has landed a rich premium script deal at NBC. The untitled project, from 20th Century Fox TV and Gordon’s studio-based Teakwood Lane, is described as a thriller soap set in a world much like ours, where human-looking robots are commonplace. After a routine homicide explodes into the first robot-on-human murder, the lead detective must solve the case and investigate a growing robot rebellion while dealing with the impact on his own fractured family. This marks the first project to come out of Teakwood Lane, which Gordon launched last month.

Friedman will write the script with Gordon supervising. The two will executive produce with Teakwood Lane’s head of TV Hugh Fitzpatrick. This marks a familiar territory for Friedman who helmed another series of projects about a world where humans and robots co-exist, Fox’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. His pilot scripts the last two years both went to pilot at Fox, Locke & Key and The Asset. UTA-repped Friedman also co-wrote the 2005 alien invasion movie War Of The Worlds. This marks Friedman’s first project at NBC and Gordon’s return to the network where he executive produced Awake last season.

A 25-year veteran Gordon, repped by WME and attorney Michael Gendler, first gained attention for his work on the hit Fox/20th TV series The X-Files and was the showrunner and executive producer of 24 for which he received both the Golden Globe and the Emmy for Best Drama Series. His other credits include Angel, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Beauty And The Beast, Sisters and Spenser: For Hire.