Shawn Ryan, a man who hasn’t been hurting for original ideas (The Shield, The Chicago Code, Terriers, Lie to Me, The Unit) has joined Murphy in drumming up some interest in a Beverly Hills Cop sequel that would follow Axel Foley’s son as he tries to make a name for himself outside the shadow of his father. Murphy would make guest appearances, probably as Axel, and hopefully not as a big fat guy or a Klump.

The show has been pitched to two of the big four, with the other two pitches coming today. It’s safe to say that this project has supplanted the Beverly Hills Cop 4 movie with Brett Ratner. Because Ryan > Ratner.

After knocking out those bleeding-edge Oscars in February (where he hopes to garner comparisons to bleeding-edge comic Billy Crystal), he is dumping all those familiar family roles to make Beverly Hills Cop into a TV show. About Axel Foley. And his son. So it’s pretty much a TV show about a family from a property that’s been in the cultural lexicon for the past 25 years.

Murphy wil produce the show and make appearances as Axel, who is now the chief of the Detroit Police Department. He claims he went the TV route because “None of the movie scripts were right; it was trying to force the premise. If you have to force something, you shouldn’t be doing it. It was always a rehash of the old thing.”

It’s pretty clear he’s trying here, folks. And I…I think that’s just terrific.