You know that feeling you get after you see a really great movie? That you just want more but you know you won’t be able to get it because it’s not a TV show with multiple seasons that you can binge hours of in one sitting?
Well, you won’t have to worry about that too much as these old – and new – movies are getting a small-screen spin-off.
The Lost Boys: Released in 1987, The Lost Boys focused on two Arizona brothers who move to California and find themselves fighting a gang of young vampires. The CW is expected to develop to a TV version next year, with producer Rob Thomas already having a clear vision of where he sees the show going. “The story that I’m trying to tell in Season 1 of The Lost Boys is a story about two brothers and how tempted they are to fall in with these vampires and how tempted they are to want to be 22 forever,” he told Collider in January. “I am leaning into the Peter Pan notion of, if you join these vampires, you never have to grow up.
Underworld: Rumours of an Underworld series have been around since 2014, but director Len Wiseman insists it’s still happening. The franchise, which follows Kate Beckinsale’s vampire character Selene, has spawned five films so far. Wiseman told Deadline about the TV reinvention: “The series will be a pretty big departure from the films. I don’t want to say it’s more adult, but it’s definitely less comic book in its tone and character.”
The Nice Guys: Last year, cop comedy The Nice Guys, starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, came to the big screen. Although the movie wasn’t a hit at the box office, Fox has ordered a female-led TV version called The Nice Girls. The show will be written by Michael Diliberti (who also wrote 30 Minutes or Less), and will presumably follow two female detectives who solve crimes in LA.
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Spy novel author Tom Clancy has written his fair share of books, which have been developed into five films. Now, John Krasinski stars in the eight-episode TV series as CIA analyst Jack Ryan who goes on a dangerous field assignment and finds himself at the centre of a terrorism ring that threatens global destruction. The show will air exclusively on Amazon in 2018. (Watch the full trailer below.)
Jack Ryan – Teaser Trailer
Divergent: Based on the YA books by Veronica Roth, Divergent is set in a dystopian future and follows the journey of 16-year-old Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley). But instead of producing the fourth and final film in the franchise, Lionsgate decided to move it to the small screen due to its luke-warm reception. There are no details yet on the show, but the film’s stars (Shailene, Theo James and Ansel Elgort) have all hinted they won’t be part of it.
True Lies: Fox has a TV version of the 1994 film True Lies in the works. The original flick followed a superspy (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who had to keep his occupation hidden from his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) and daughter. A pilot will go ahead, and based on how well it does, it could be picked up for a full season.
Watchmen: HBO confirmed the news in September that DC Comics Watchmen was heading to the small screen. The comic follows a group of heroes during the era of the Cold War, but it is not yet known what direction the TV series is heading towards. The original film’s director Zack Synder was initially attached to the series, but talks fell through.
Blue Crush: Surf’s up! NBC is looking to reboot the 2002 surf movie Blue Crush that starred Kate Bosworth. The drama is reportedly in development and is being written by Hannah Schneider (who wrote Reign). The original starred Kate Bosworth as a pro surfer who wants to revive her career after an accident.
