TV Jots

La Femme Nikita Gets Another Do-Over

Since Luc Besson’s 1990 French action flick La Femme Nikita remains one of my all-time favorite movies, foreign or not, I’m totally looking forward to tonight’s (September 9) premiere of the new CW series Nikita.

The second adaptation of the film to hit American television — following USA Network’s 1997–2001 La Femme Nikita version starring Peta Wilson — the CW effort features film actress Maggie Q (Live Free or Die Hard, Mission: Impossible III) as the title character.

In the latest version of the original movie, Nikita remains a mysterious woman with a violent past, present, and future. Rescued from certain death by a clandestine agency many years ago and then trained to be an ace assassin and spy, her main mission these days involves getting revenge on the agency after certain employees betrayed her, destroying her life yet again. In other words, good times — and lots of butt-kicking — are straight ahead.

Maggie Q’s fellow cast members include Xander Berkeley (24), Melinda Clarke (The O.C.), Lyndsy Fonseca (How I Met Your Mother), and Shane West (ER). Preview Nikita below; the series premieres at 9pm ET.

Also of note on September 9: The Vampire Diaries opens its second season on The CW at 8pm ET with the premiere “The Return” and the Canadian crime drama Rookie Blues, which I just couldn’t get into despite several attempts, closes its successful first season on ABC with the “In Blue” and “Takedown” double-episode finale from 9pm–11pm ET.