The iconic 1987 film Fatal Attraction starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close dominated the global box office with more than $320 million grossed worldwide and gained serious award buzz that led up to six Academy Awards nominations.
Now, a new iteration of the story about the dangerous romance between Dan Gallagher and Alex Forrest is coming to Paramount+. More than three decades after the original movie was released, Alexandra Cunningham helms a series about the deadly consequences of this affair.
At Paramount+’s Television Critics Association winter press tour panel on Jan. 9, Cunningham — who started working on this show in Oct. 2020 — said the reimagining shares many similarities with the original film but “also is about entitlement and midlife crisis and how some of the sausages get made in our broken justice system.” Cunningham also said the show is about Cluster B personality disorders, a topic that was heavily discussed when the original film was released due to Close’s portrayal of Alex.
The highest-grossing film worldwide of 1987, “Fatal Attraction” received six Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Director for Adrian Lyne, Best Actress for Close, Best Supporting Actress for Archer, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Editing.
Will the series taste similar success at the Emmys? With this release schedule and due to the elimination of the hanging episode rule, the show would need to submit in drama to be eligible at the Emmys this year.
Fatal Attraction
Six episodes will have aired by the May 31 deadline, the minimum number of episodes required for series in animation, comedy, drama, variety, short form, and variety (limited and anthology series have aired their entire seasons by the deadline or they’ll be eligible the subsequent year). “Fatal Attraction’s” remaining two episodes — the finale airs on Jackson’s birthday, June 11 — will be eligible next year as orphaned episodes, recognizing individual achievements if the series doesn’t return during the cycle. During the panel, Cunningham declined to say if there are plans for a second season.
The film generated some controversy at the time of its release, primarily for its sexual content as well as accusations of sexism in its portrayal of Alex, but it was a financial success, grossing $320 million at the box office, and receiving six nominations at the Oscars, including Best Picture.
Its popularity helped launch a wave of similar erotic thrillers throughout the early ’90s, including many helmed by Lyne, like “Indecent Proposal” and “Unfaithful,” before the genre mostly faded into irrelevance
Fatal Attraction: Cast
Joshua Jackson stars as Dan Gallagher, who was portrayed by Douglas in the original film, while Lizzy Caplan stars as Alex Forrest, portrayed by Close originally. Amanda Peet joins the cast as Dan’s wife Beth Gallagher, played by Anne Archer in the 1987 movie, and Alyssa Jirrels is set to play Dan and Beth’s daughter Ellen Gallagher
The cast also includes Toby Huss as Mike Gerard, Reno Wilson as Detective Earl Booker, and Brian Goodman as Arthur Tomlinson.
Fatal Attraction: Release Date
The first two episodes of Fatal Attraction will stream on Paramount Plus on April 30 in the U.S. and Canada, the streaming service announced Monday during the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif.
Fatal Attraction: storyline
Fatal Attraction won’t be a continuation of the iconic ’80s movie, but a reimagining of it. The psychosexual thriller follows an aspiring judge (Joshua Jackson) who seems to have it all: a promising career, a beautiful wife (Amanda Peet), and a loving family. But when he starts a relationship with a flirty colleague (Lizzy Caplan), his entire life falls apart.
Instead of centering on a mercilessly unstable mistress, the series will flip the script. According to Paramount+, “The new series will explore fatal attraction and the timeless themes of marriage and infidelity through the lens of modern attitudes toward strong women, personality disorders, and coercive control.”
The reboot is billed as “a deep-dive reimagining of the classic psychosexual thriller and ’80s cultural touchstone. The new series will explore fatal attraction and the timeless themes of marriage and infidelity through the lens of modern attitudes toward strong women, personality disorders, and coercive control.” Alexandra Cunningham (dirty john) will serve as writer and showrunner.
If you watched Fatal Attraction in 2022, certain aspects of the movie probably won’t sit as well with you as they did upon its release 35 years ago, specifically when it comes to the treatment of the film’s female characters. That appears to be something the new Paramount+ streaming series plans to address.
What was the original Fatal Attraction about?
The original Fatal Attraction is about an affair that Dan, a married lawyer in Manhattan, has with an editor named Alex. The pair has a passionate weekend together during a weekend when Dan’s wife Beth and daughter Ellen are out of town. Alex becomes obsessed with Dan and starts to take extreme measures to get his attention as he begins to pull away.
Where to watch Fatal Attraction
The first two episodes of Fatal Attraction will premiere on Paramount+ on Sunday, April 30 in the U.S. and Canada. The series will premiere the following day in the UK, Australia, Latin America, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and France.
New episodes for the U.S. and Canada will then premiere weekly on Sundays. As for the rest of those territories mentioned above, new episodes will premiere on Mondays. The premiere dates for South Korea will be announced at a later time.