"Over There" is an ensemble drama that will explore the lives of a select group of Army soldiers in combat as well as the families they left behind. Bochco will serve as executive producer with Chris Gerolmo ("Mississippi Burning"), who will direct the pilot he wrote.

The pilot marks the first collaboration between Bochco, the veteran producer of gritty series like "Hill Street Blues," and 20th Century Fox Television since he sued 20th several years ago over the syndication sale of "NYPD Blue."

For FX president of entertainment John Landgraf, "Over There" represents the realization of a goal he set out to achieve when he joined the channel in January.

"The biggest arena I was interested in producing was a contemporary drama about war," he said. "When I got here, I knew who I wanted to do it with."

Landgraf envisions "Over There" not being pro- or anti-war but admitted that the show won't please everyone. "There's likely to be some controversy because the war is such a partisan football from both sides," he said.