After initially receiving a straight-to-series 10-episode order last summer, the prequel series to the Oscar-nominated black comedy crime film Sexy Beast at Paramount Network has been scrapped by the ViacomCBS-owned cabler, according to Variety.
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Though neither Paramount Network nor Paramount Television Studios has offered an explanation as to the scrapping of development, the decision reportedly comes in the wake of the Viacom-CBS merger in which budget cuts are being made at the networks and with Sexy Beast still finishing scripts, sources report it was “an easier cut.”
The series adaptation from Paramount Television and Anonymous Content was based on director Jonathan Glazer’s cult classic British crime film. The show would tell the origin story of Gal Dove, Don Logan, and Teddy Bass, the characters played in the movie by Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, and Ian McShane, respectively.
Gal Dove is a brilliant thief who finds himself descending into the seductive madness of the London criminal world during the vibrant and volatile 1990s. The series will explore the early days of Gal’s complicated relationship with Don Logan, a vicious gangster with whom Gal forms a partnership, the beginnings of his association with criminal mastermind Teddy Bass and how Gal met and fell in love with DeeDee, an adult film star who would become his wife.
Pick up the original film here
Caleo was to serve as writer and executive producer, with Karyn Kusama (Destroyer) directing and executive producing through her company, Familystyle, alongside Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay. Louis Mellis and David Scinto, the screenwriting duo behind the original film, set to also executive produce. Keith Cox and Lauren Ruggiero, Vice President of Development for Paramount Network, were to oversee the series for the network.
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The 2000 Sexy Beast film follows Gal Dove (Winstone) an ex-criminal who had moved to Spain with his wife DeeDee (Amanda Redman) to start a new life, and Don Logan (Kingsley), an old criminal associate who aggressively recruits him for a heist job on behalf of crime lord Teddy Bass (McShane).
