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CBS' 'Rush Hour' could use more time to develop

For producer Bill Lawrence, the key word in the title of his new CBS show, Rush Hour, might be "hour."
Known for character-rich half-hour comedies (Spin City, Scrubs, Cougar Town), Lawrence could be the real fish out of water in what CBS calls the "reimagining" of the buddy-cop movie franchise.

Or he could help it float.

The pilot that premieres 10 p.m. Thursday on CBS isn't enough to tell if this latest movie adaptation will grow beyond its roots and allow viewers to forget that stars Justin Hires and Jon Foo aren't Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan.

Hires plays the high-energy Detective Carter from the LAPD. Foo is Detective Lee, the by-the-book Hong Kong detective whom Carter's boss (Wendie Malick) refers to as the "Asian Orlando Bloom." Lee, who also excels in martial arts, is in L.A. to investigate a heist in which he has a very personal stake.

Aimee Garcia (Dexter) plays Carter's former partner and Page Kennedy (Backstrom) is his cousin (and informant) Gerald.

It's promising that Lawrence's fellow producers include Psych creator Steve Franks, who knows something about mixing comedy and crime, but these characters need more development than this first rushed hour gives them.