David Hasselhoff Returns To Knight Rider?

[Brian Damage]

David Hasselhoff--who starred in the original Knight Rider TV series--is making final arrangements for an appearance on the new show--maybe with a surprising car, executive producer Gary Scott Thompson told SCI FI Wire during an exclusive set visit on Aug. 20. That's the first time the show's producers have confirmed that they are considering inviting Hasselhoff onto the new series.

"He may make an appearance later this season," Thompson said in an interview on the show's set in Santa Clarita, Calif. "He is talking to NBC next week, and we are working out everyone's schedule ... I don't want to put him in just for the sake of having him drop by; I want there to be a good reason for him being there and have it be part of the story. I talked to David about a way of doing that, and so far he likes it. It's a cool idea."

Thompson (Las Vegas) added that he has a dream scenario: Teaming Hasselhoff's Michael Knight with Justin Bruening's Mike Tracer, with both K.I.T.T.s: The original Pontiac Trans Am, originally voiced by William Daniels, and the Ford Mustang GT500KR, voiced by Val Kilmer. "I don't know if it will happen," Thompson said. "It's all about timing."

As recently as early summer, Hasselhoff was quoted as saying that he didn't think the recent NBC reboot and update of the series would work without him or his input. (Hasselhoff had a cameo in the two-hour pilot telefilm that aired earlier this year, reprising his original role.)

"Those were old quotes," Thompson said. "He doesn't feel that way anymore. ... I just talked with David the other day over breakfast at the Beverly Hills Hotel and explained to him in great detail what we had planned for the show, and he said he liked it and gave his approval."

Knight Rider picks up the story from the pilot movie and centers on a high-tech crime-fighting team that operates the intelligent car, called K.I.T.T.

Justin Bruening is reprising his role as Knight's son, Mike Tracer. Thompson, who wasn't involved in the TV movie, said he is planning to make the weekly show even more action-packed and fast-paced.

The cast includes Deanna Russo, Bruce Davison, Yancey Arias, Paul Campbell, Sydney Tamiia Poitier and Smith Cho. It is currently filming the seventh of 13 episodes that are already written, Thompson said.

Hasselhoff is "still a big fan of the show obviously," Thompson said. "He has known Bruce [Davison] for a long time, and when I met with him, he basically gave me his blessing, and I told him everything I wanted to do. And he said 'That's awesome.' I do not want to get the fans' hopes up or anything, but I'm talking to NBC, and he's talking to NBC and it's all a matter of timing." Knight Rider premieres Sept. 24 and will air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. (NBC is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.) --Mike Szymanski

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