Ronald D. Moore and "Caprica" writer Matt Roberts have sold a Western drama to ABC.

"Hangtown" mixes procedural drama with the cowboy backdrop of the early 20th century.

After his pilot for the magical cop show "17th Precinct" failed to get a pickup from NBC, former "Battlestar Galactica" executive producer Moore has shifted his focus to the Old West.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Hangtown" is set in the early 1900s in a town dealing with the arrival of the railroad.

The series features a marshal, described as a "Matt Dillon/Clint Eastwood type," who solves crimes using his instincts. He'll be matched with a young east coast doctor who wants to focus instead on the emerging field of forensic science.

The cast is rounded out by a young female writer looking to sell exciting stories to her big-city editors (perhaps in the vein of ABC fan-favorite, Richard Castle).

USA Network offered up a similar series in 2003. Billed as "CSI Old West," "Peacemakers" starred Tom Berenger as the marshal and Peter O'Meara as the science-minded detective. However, the series received a cool reception and lasted only 13 episodes.

The networks are hoping for better performance from Westerns this year. It's proven to be a popular genre, with at least six cowboy series in the pipeline. NBC was first interested in "Hangtown" and has reportedly ordered a script for a Western that focuses on the female point of view.

In addition to "Hangtown," ABC has another Western in the works, as does CBS.

On the cable side of things, AMC has ordered "Hell on Wheels," set around the building of the railroad. TNT will offer its own Western crime drama, called "Gateway," based in early Colorado.