'The Great Gatsby' TV series in the works - report
A television adaptation of The Great Gatsby is reportedly in the works.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Vikings showrunner Michael Hirst is teaming up with A+E Studios and ITV Studios America to develop a miniseries based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel. Hirst will write the script and executive produce alongside Groundswell Productions' Michael London. The co-producers are reportedly planning to shop the series to premium cable and streaming outlets.
Meanwhile, Blake Hazard, a great-granddaughter of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and a trustee of the Fitzgerald estate, will serve as a consulting producer, according to the report. Columbia University English professor William B. Ransford and comparative literature and African-American studies Farah Jasmine Griffin will serve as consultants on the upcoming project.
"I have long dreamt of a more diverse, inclusive version of Gatsby that better reflects the America we live in, one that might allow us all to see ourselves in Scott's wildly romantic text," Hazard said. "Michael brings a deep reverence for Scott's work to the project, but also a fearlessness about bringing such an iconic story to life in an accessible and fresh way. I'm delighted to be a part of the project."
The report also states that Hirst's upcoming miniseries will explore New York's Black community in the 1920s as well as the musical subculture. The series will also focus on the hidden lives of its characters through the modern lens of a fractured American dream while also capturing the full majesty of Fitzgerald's timeless vision, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"Today, as America seeks to reinvent itself once again, is the perfect moment to look with new eyes at this timeless story, to explore its famous and iconic characters through the modern lens of gender, race and sexual orientation," Hirst said. "Fitzgerald's profoundly romantic vision does not prevent him examining and exposing the darker underbelly of the American experience, which is why the story speaks to both tragedy and hope, and why it continues to resonate today."
The last film adaptation of Fitzgerald's novel was Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 movie The Great Gatsby which starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke.
(Image from IMDB)