Amanda Peet joins Paramount Plus' Fatal Attraction series
The Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story actor will play Joshua Jackson's wife in the adaption of the classic 1980s erotic-thriller
Pet bunnies, beware! The Chair creator and Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story actor Amanda Peet will be joining the Fatal Attraction TV series adaption on Paramount+.
Peet will be joining the previously cast Joshua Jackson (Dawson’s Creek) and Lizzy Caplan (Cloverfield) in what Paramount+ describes as a “deep-dive reimagining” of Adrian Lyne’s iconic erotic-thriller, per Variety. The series is set to take a 2022 look into exploring “the themes of marriage and infidelity through the lens of modern attitudes toward strong women, personality disorders, and coercive control.”
Instead of boiling bunnies, Peet will be taking on the role of Beth Gallagher, who Variety writes is “a loyal wife, loving mother and successful small business.” If you’ve ever seen the 1987 film though, you know all that is about to come crashing down when her husband Dan’s (Jackson) affair with Alex (Caplan) causes a dangerous situation for the family. In the original film, Beth was played by Anne Archer—her performance got both an Academy Award and BAFTA nomination.
Leading Paramount Plus’ Fatal Attraction as series writer, showrunner, and executive producer is Alexandra Cunningham (Desperate Housewives). Kevin J. Hynes (The Offer) will also executive produce, and shares a co-story credit with Cunningham. Under Amblin Television, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey will executive produce, as well as Silver Tree and Paramount Television.
Peet was previously the co-creator and writer for Netflix’ The Chair, which starred Sandra Oh in the world of academia. She’s known for her roles in the true-crime series Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, The Whole Nine Yards, and Nancy Meyers’ Something’s Gotta Give.
Though a fun and unnerving film, the sexism of “single, career woman who becomes obsessed over man so deeply that she’ll kill” from the original Fatal Attraction has been re-examined for its negative depiction in past years, even by star Glenn Close herself. We’ll see if the new series can truly re-contextualize the film’s plot for 2022, or if Alex’s downfall will be just a gruesome as before.