Human Target is in good hands with Co-executive Producer Peter Johnson. Johnson is president of Wonderland Media where he heads up such hit shows as NBC's "Chuck" or the CW's "Supernatural."

Earlier this week TV Week had a chance to ask Johnson a few questions about his company's newest show.

TVWeek: "Human Target" seems to be Fox's big hope for the fall, along with "Glee." Much pressure?

JOHNSON: We certainly feel the pressure, as any new show in today's television environment should, but this is a huge opportunity. We're more excited than stressed out. For one, Fox is giving us an extraordinary platform for our launch. We also have a level of support from Warner Bros which is off the charts. Everyone is on the same page about what the show is and the elements that go into it, such as casting and marketing. The other part of the opportunity we see is on the creative end. We feel like we're bringing something new and fun to television with this show, even if the "new" includes some deliberately retro elements.

TVWeek: Indeed, his show is often described as a throwback to 1980s kinds of shows.

JOHNSON: The simplicity of the premise (our action hero is hired each week to eliminate the threat to someone who has found themselves in danger) and the fun embodied in our action hero are reminiscent of certain shows from the 1980s. The obvious challenge in doing this show is to make it feel contemporary and that it lives in the same world as "24" and other cutting-edge suspense and action shows of today. The show definitely has in its DNA the fun of movies and series from the '80s that Jon Steinberg and I loved -- especially in terms of the main character - such as Indiana Jones, and Riggs in "Lethal Weapon" and John McClane in "Die Hard." Rather than being pinned just to the '80s, they're timeless characters that are a blast to watch, and who add real and occasionally funny human moments into the action situations in which they find themselves. We want this series to be a blast, and a real escape, so yes, that's kind of an '80s notion, but no less relevant today.

TVWeek: Are networks sometimes afraid to just do straight-ahead action? There always has to be a twist, or an element you wouldn't have found 20 years ago. I mean, if "Magnum, PI" were being pitched today, there's a good chance his mustache would literally be a weapon.

JOHNSON: Well, the straight-ahead action on television faces an inevitable comparison to the infinitely bigger budget action movies that they have to compete with. Which, obviously, they can't, at least in terms of scope, visual effects, etc. So the focus naturally becomes on the elements that shows on network television can provide - and often do better than film. They become more about a character hook, since TV has the luxury and ability to explore character over an extended terrain, or a conceptual hook that takes it to another level, like "24."