As we mentioned over the weekend, there is a serious trend of movies getting a TV remake this year.
Networks have had varying degrees of success with this so far. For every Fargo, there's been a Minority Report. However this hasn't stopped and network executives from being willing to take a risk. There are still plenty of dormant movie properties they own the rights to that could be reignited. We already focused on the Lethal Weapon remake in detail but here's five more titles that have had a pilot ordered and could potentially go to series later in the year.
1. Cruel Intentions
You remember Cruel Intentions right? No? Well it was a bit of a cultural phenomenon around the late nineties and early noughties. A contemporary remake of Dangerous Liaisons, it starred a then fresh faced Ryan Phillipe and Sarah Michelle Gellar as step siblings at a wealthy prep school in New York. The pair wreaked havoc wherever they went and it all culminated in tragedy when they made a bet about the good natured Annette (Reece Witherspoon). This one will actually be more of a spinoff than a remake. It will follow Bash, the son of the late Sebastian Valmont (Phillipe) and Annette Hargrove (Witherspoon) as he navigates the dangers of upper East Side society. There are rumours abound that Sarah Michelle Gellar is considering reprising her role for the first few episodes. Though its very much a rumour for now.
2. The Exorcist
Fox are behind the TV remake of William Friedkin's horror classic. The details on this one are very thin on the ground except for the basic plot line which will see two very different men taking on one family's case of extreme demonic possession. If you can get passed the whole 'leave the classic alone' thing for a second, there's actually so much potential here. It could work as a demonic possession of the week format with the two men investigating various cases as they go (a la The X Files). However we really hope they go the Fargo anthology route. Have a new set of characters and a new evil to face each season. For us that would be the best way for it to set itself apart from the film franchise and give itself a chance to be something special. Time will tell what Fox decide to do but we'll be keeping a close eye on this one.
3. Training Day
The 2001 film saw Denzel Washington get his second Oscar (his first for Best Actor) and announced Antoine Fuqua as a directorial talent to watch. The plot centred around Ethan Hawke's idealistic young cop who is partnered with the cynical (and corrupt) experienced detective (Washington). The remake will see the races reversed with a young African American cop being partnered up with a morally ambiguous older caucasian detective. Fuqua is back as an executive producer and will direct the pilot episode. Rumour has it he's made a bid to get Hawke to make a cameo though we'd bet our house against him having anything to do with the show.
4. Taken
Talk about flogging a dead horse? As if the Taken 2 and Taken 3 weren't enough, the people at NBC think there's still an audience for more Bryan Mills. The TV adaptation will be a prequel series which will see a young Mills acquire the particular set of skills he bragged about in the original movie. We're not sure if the series will be call Taken or if anybody will actually get taken in the show but expect a lot punching, car chases and interrogating. This one got a straight to series order so there's a greater chance we'll see it on Irish screens than the others on this list. No word yet on whether Neeson might have a cameo to bookend the series but we'd seriously doubt he'll have any involvement. At least we hope not anyways.
5. Frequency
This is probably the least familiar title on the list which is a pity because the film was a solid thriller with good performances from Denis Quaid and Jim Caviezel. The plot centred on Caviezel's character who, when working on his radio one night somehow stumbles upon a frequency that allows him to communicate with his dad thirty years in the past (it sounds very silly we know but it totally worked). He then has to advise his father on how to avoid his impending death but also navigate the butterfly effect consequences that appear as a result. Plot details for the remake are as usual thin on the ground but it is thought that it will focus on a female police detective in 2016 who is able to communicate with her dead father via a ham radio. A police officer himself, he then helps her investigate unsolved cases. So far a pilot has been ordered. It remains to be seen whether or not it will go to series.
