EXCLUSIVE: Lock up your rabbits. Paramount is rebooting its iconic thriller Fatal Attraction into a one-hour event TV series with Maria and Andre Jacquemetton (Mad Men) exec producing and writing. The series is being developed under the auspices of Paramount Television Production. Fox Broadcasting Network is on-board and has commissioned the script. Stanley R. Jaffe and Anonymous Content’s Rosalie Swedlin are exec producing. Fox’s president of entertainment, David Madden, actually developed and supervised the original feature when he was an exec at Paramount. Although exact details are being kept under wraps, Deadline understands the reimagining will explore how a married man’s indiscretion comes back to haunt him.

The original 1987 film, directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, was about as zeitgeisty as a film could get and had a huge influence on countless subsequent psycho-sexual thrillers. The film, which sees Douglas’ successful and married attorney embark on an ill-advised weekend affair with Close’s publishing exec only for her to begin stalking him and his family, also gave birth to the term “bunny boiler.” That was in reference to the unforgettable scene when Close’s character kills Douglas’ daughter pet rabbit and leaves it on the family’s stove to boil away. No word yet on whether there’ll be any repeat of that seminal moment.

Paramount’s relatively young TV division has been expanding ambitiously under TV president Amy Powell. The company is mining its parent studio’s library for TV adaptations, including plans to develop an HBO series based on Shutter Island with both Martin Scorsese and Dennis Lehane’s involvement; as well as an American Gigolo series in development with Jerry Bruckheimer. Paramount TV also inked a first-look deal with Kyle Killen, creator of Lone Star, Awake and Mind Games, and his recently launched company Chapter Eleven. That deal stems out of the three year, first-look production deal Anonymous and Paramount announced last year that gives Paramount a first look to produce and distribute Anonymous’ TV programming across multiple platforms.

Paramount+ is moving forward with its Fatal Attraction television series.

The ViacomCBS-backed streamer has handed out a formal order for the drama that had been in development there with a script-to-series commitment since earlier this year. Alongside the series order comes casting news that Lizzy Caplan (Castle Rock, Masters of Sex) will lead the cast for the update of the 1987 favorite.



Alexandra Cunningham (Dirty John) will serve as writer, showrunner and exec producer on the drama from Amblin Television. Cunningham will exec produce alongside Kevin J. Hynes (Perry Mason), with whom she shares a co-story credit. Amblin’s Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey will exec produce for Amblin.



The new Fatal Attraction is described as a deep-dive reimagining of the psychosexual thriller and explore themes including marriage and infidelity through the lens of modern attitudes toward strong women, personality disorders and coercive control. Caplan will take on the role of Alex — previously portrayed by Glenn Close in the movie — who likewise becomes obsessed with her lover after a brief affair.

“Alexandra brings an incredibly strong and nuanced point of view to a story that became a cultural phenomenon but has thus far only been told from the male gaze,” said Nicole Clemens, president of original scripted series at Paramount+. “Partnered with Kevin, they will bring the next explosive chapter of this story to a new generation with a balanced eye to the complexities of the human psyche.”



Fatal Attraction was among the Paramount Pictures IP that was put into development at the former CBS All Access in February. The drama, along with updates of Love Story, The Parallax View, The Italian Job and Flashdance, remain in the works as Clemens looks to put her stamp on the streamer since adding oversight of originals earlier this year.

Fatal Attraction joins a rapidly growing slate of originals at Paramount+ that also includes Happy Face, The Good Fight and Evil (all from Robert and Michelle King); the Alex Kurtzman-led Star Trek franchise and the upcoming The Offer, The Game, Mayor of Kingstown, Yellowstone prequel 1883 and Showtime import Halo.

Caplan’s credits also include Truth Be Told, Party Down, The Class, True Blood, Freaks and Geeks and Mean Girls, among others. She’s repped by WME, Rise Management and Jackoway Austen.

A premiere date for Fatal Attraction has not yet been determined.

Some lines can never be uncrossed. Fatal Attraction is streaming April 30th, exclusively on Paramount+.

Joshua Jackson (Dan Gallagher) and Lizzy Caplan (Alex Forrest) star in the Paramount+ Original series Fatal Attraction, a deep-dive reimagining of the classic psychosexual thriller and ‘80s cultural touchstone.

The series also stars Amanda Peet, Alyssa Jirrels, Toby Huss, Reno Wilson, and Brian Goodman.