Television is quickly becoming a haven for gritty, character-driven entertainment, from HBO’s True Detective to AMC’s The Walking Dead, and now we have two more potentially phenomenal small-screen projects which fit that description to look forward to. In a conversation with Movies.com, William Friedkin recently revealed that TV adaptations of two of his movies, To Live and Die in L.A. and Killer Joe, are in development.
Of a possible To Live and Die in L.A. series, Friedkin stated:
“MGM is trying to develop a television series on ‘To Live and Die in L.A.’ It won’t be that story at all, but it will be that vibe.”
Based on that description, it sounds like MGM has particularly noted the success of FX’s Fargo, which is currently telling a new story in the same vein of the Coen Brothers’ iconic crime drama, but new characters and an original plotline of which the filmmakers certainly would have approved.
Friedkin then talked about a Killer Joe series, actually name-dropping Fargo in the process. He said:
“They’re also trying to do a series on ‘Killer Joe.’ A Dallas detective who is a hired killer. It will not be the same story, but it will be very edgy, not unlike ‘Fargo.'”
Both To Live and Die in L.A. and Killer Joe were terrific movies, so I’m excited to see what new ideas Friedkin could bring to TV adaptations. The filmmaker is certainly passionate about the current TV landscape, and in his conversation with Movies.com, he actually admitted that he prefers it to what’s happening on the big screen these days:
“The only thing I’m interested in now is long form, which is what you’d call television… I don’t want to make a feature film, because I don’t want to make a movie about a guy in a mask and a spandex suit flying around and saving the world. I don’t want to see that movie, so why would I make it? And if you do make a serious film today, the chances are it won’t have a bright future in theaters. It could maybe take on an afterlife in home video and cable.”
I have to say that I definitely agree with Friedkin. It’s exceedingly rare to find entertainment as compelling as FX’s Fargo at the movies, and working in “long form,” as Friedkin put it, encourages filmmakers to experiment and pursue wildly ambitious projects. Whether To Live and Die in L.A. and Killer Joe shows will both pan out is unclear, but TV adaptations of those films would definitely be great additions to any channel that’s serious about quality programming.
