Showtime has scrapped at least four original series in development that had already scored a green light to proceed.
The most high profile of these was a TV series remake of Andrew Niccol’s acclaimed 1997 sci-fi film “Gattaca” which was being spearheaded by “Homeland” co-creators Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa.
That show was to take place a generation after the events of the film and centers on a man with a congenital heart condition who tries to assume the identity of a former athlete with perfect genes to fulfil his dream of travelling in space.
Another scrapped series was “Seasoned,” a half-hour comedy starring real-life husband and wife Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody. Also not moving forward are Nick Stoller and Emerald Fennell’s female-driven anthology project “Sweetness,” and a mystery project known as “Split”.
The scrapping of these shows in development comes after Showtime officially merged with Paramount+ this week and follows the cancellation of several other series ahead of their debuts, such as “Three Women” and “Ripley” – those shows, however, found new homes at Starz and Netflix respectively.
It marks just the latest cost-cutting efforts by Paramount who have pulled a number of series from its Paramount+ service, including “Star Trek: Prodigy,” “Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies,” “The Game,” “Queen of the Universe” and “Inside Amy Schumer” among others.
Source: THR
