Showtime has scrapped a number of green originals, including the series remake of Gattaca out of Homeland Co-creators Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa and Seasoneda comedy starring the real-life couple Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody.
Two development projects are also not progressing – sweetness And Splits. sweetness comes from Nick Stoller and Promising young woman Oscar winner Emerald Fennell and is a women-led anthology project. It stems from Stoller’s overall deal with Sony Pictures TV, which will shop elsewhere. Not much is known about this Splits.
The move comes after Showtime’s merger with Paramount+ on the streaming side and follows the cancellation of other series ahead of their debut, including Three women, who moved to Starz, and Ripleythat switched to Netflix.
It’s the latest cancellation as part of a cost-cutting drive at Paramount, after a number of series were withdrawn from Paramount+ service, including Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies, The Game, Star Trek: Prodigy, Queen of the Universe And In Amy Schumer.
Both Gattacaoriginating from Sony Pictures Television, and Seasonedthat originated from Jax Media, as well as the development projects, have the opportunity to be bought elsewhere.
The Gattaca The series, which is a remake of the 1997 film starring Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, was intended to be Gordon and Gansa’s return to the network.
From Sony Pictures Television, the series is set a generation after the events of the film, when science and humanity have evolved to the point where we can direct our own evolution. Genetic engineering has created a world where parents can determine the future of their children before they are born (the valids), creating by default a new underclass no longer determined by social status or race (the invalids). .
The series is set in the near future where corporations screen their employees based on their genetic makeup. The series centers on a man with a congenital heart defect who tries to assume the identity of a former athlete with perfect genes in order to fulfill his dream of going into space.
It was to be written by Gordon, Gansa and Craig Borten. Gordon and Gansa served as executive producers, along with Glenn Gellar, who runs their SPT-based company, and Danny DeVito, who produced the film.
Paramount insiders noted that the company is focused on customizing its own intellectual property rather than third-party projects.
On the comedy side, Seasoned was a half-hour comedy starring the real-life couple Patinkin, who are also best known for their roles in Homelandand Grody (The Lemon Sisters).
Created and written jointly by writer-director Ewen Wright and her son Gideon Grody-Patinkin. Seasoned is inspired by the couple’s real life and relationship. It follows the delightfully turbulent relationship and life of a successful, sociable, deeply committed, slightly insane couple played by Patinkin and Grody – roles they have been rehearsing for 43 years. The source of their endless magic is the same as their endless suffering: that they stayed together all along.
Jax Media is producing with Brooke Posch, Isabel Richardson, Ewen Wright, Gideon Grody-Patinkin, Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody.