FOX has tried a lot of things in its 16-year history, but medical dramas haven't been high on the list.

That may change next season, as the network is closing in a deal for such a show from Universal Television and writer-producer David Shore ("Family Law"). The agreement involves a pilot commitment and seven-figure penalties if the show isn't made, according to the Hollywood trade papers.

Shore would write the pilot and serve as executive producer with Paul Attanasio ("Homicide," "Gideon's Crossing") and his partner Katie Jacobs. The concept throws an element of mystery into the hospital-show genre; it follows a team of doctors who are called in when other physicians aren't sure what they're facing.

FOX has only tried one other medical drama in the past, and it didn't go too well. "Medicine Ball," which lasted only a couple months in spring 1995, was an ensemble series about first-year residents that featured "Grounded for Life's" Donal Logue.

Attanasio and Jacobs are also executive producers of CBS' midseason legal drama "Century City." Shore's other credits include a stint on "Law & Order" and "Due South."