Paramount+ greenlights ‘Flashdance’ TV series
A famous movie set in Pittsburgh is getting a television adaptation, but it’s not clear if the star of “Flashdance” will be a Yinzer.
Hollywood Reporter revealed in October that a “Flashdance” TV series was in the works, and Paramount confirmed Wednesday it has given the green light to move forward as a show on its new streaming service, Paramount+. The show is in its early stages of development, but it does have a “script to pilot commitment,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Tracy McMillan ( Amazon’s “Good Girls Revolt”) will be writing the series with Angela Robinson (Showtime’s “The L Word”) executive producing and directing the pilot. Lynda Obst, the associate producer of the 1983 film, is on board as an executive producer. The Hollywood Reporter specified that Jennifer Beals, the original film’s star, “is not expected to be involved.”
There is no word on whether the new “Flashdance” will be set in Pittsburgh, which was integral to the story of Alex Owens, a steelworker and exotic dancer with aspirations of becoming a ballerina.
“The new take will revolve around a young Black woman with ballet dreams and a strip club reality who struggles to find her place in the world while navigating romance, money, art, friendship and how to love herself,” according to
the Hollywood Reporter.
Paramount+ is set to launch next week, and the company took time Wednesday to unveil part of its creative strategy for the streaming service. That included announcing multiple TV projects based on Paramount film properties, including the “Flashdance” series.
‘Ray Donovan’ movie
Fans of “Ray Donovan,” starring Liev Schreiber as a professional fixer, were blindsided last year when Showtime unceremoniously canceled the show after seven seasons. They might get the closure they crave soon after Showtime’s Wednesday announcement of a “Ray Donovan” movie that will be co-written by Schreiber and showrunner
David Hollander, a Mt. Lebanon native. He will also direct.
The “Ray Donovan” movie is expected to begin production later this year in New York, according to Deadline. In addition to Schreiber, Jon Voight will be back as Ray’s father, Mickey Donovan, as will Kerris Dorsey as his daughter, Bridget.
“When Ray Donovan went off our air after seven great seasons, we heard from so many of its loyal fans that they were not ready to say goodbye to Ray and the wonderfully dysfunctional Donovan clan,” Gary Levine, co-president of entertainment at Showtime, told Deadline. “And so, for them, we are delighted that Liev and David are creating a thrilling new chapter of this iconic series.”