‘Fatal Attraction’ strikes anew as Paramount+ series
As a hit 1987 movie, “Fatal Attraction” started a national conversation on the possible price of infidelity.
The story may do that again in a Paramount+ series version that begins streaming Sunday, April 30, both re-creating and expanding upon the original premise. Joshua Jackson (“The Affair,” “Dawson’s Creek”) assumes Michael Douglas’ earlier role as Dan Gallagher, a husband, father and legal eagle hoping to become a judge ... but his plans are altered by an encounter with victims’-rights advocate Alex Forrest (Lizzy Caplan, in Glenn Close’s previous part).
A fling results while Dan’s wife Beth (Amanda Peet) is away, and though he doesn’t see it as an ongoing situation, Alex has other ideas that eventually turn distinctly dangerous. The show alternates between extended flashbacks and an update of the central characters’ lives, now including Dan and Beth’s daughter Ellen (seen in the movie as a child) as a young adult, played by Alyssa Jirrels.
Inheriting Anne Archer’s film role, the pleasant Peet says she was “familiar” with the original “Fatal Attraction” and “loved it.” However, she considers the series’ approach needed “for Alex’s character, and seeing things through the prism of what we know now about mental illness. One of the biggest (changes) is the daughter, since she has some searing memories, and we lean into that storyline.”
Also a writer-producer who co-created the Netflix series “The Chair,” Peet was brought into “Fatal Attraction” by writer and executive producer Alexandra Cunningham, for whom she played convicted killer Betty Broderick in the series “Dirty John.” Ironically, Peet originally was asked to suggest other actresses to portray Beth, “and then (Cunningham) was like, ‘Why don’t you just do it?’ And I was like, ‘OK. I thought you’d never ask!’
“Depicting parts of the story that span 15 years necessitates different looks for Peet, who notes that aspect has required “a fair amount” of time for her with the show’s hair and makeup staff. “It’s not horrible, and our amazing team got really good at making it as quick as possible. Mostly, we tried to shoot all the scenes for one time period together (for a given episode), so that we wouldn’t have to spend a lot of extra time on the changeover.”