Period dramas have seen much success on TV, especially when set in the recent past—see Mad Men, The Americans, and maybe even Halt And Catch Fire (we’ll see how that “assessment” goes). NBC wants to get in on that retro set-design action with a show about one of the lesser-known conflicts of the ’80s: the model wars. Variety reports that Cindy Crawford, former supermodel and current skin-care peddler, is developing a drama that could reveal the ugly side of talent management factions.
The show, tentatively called Icon, won’t dramatize dressing room shenanigans by beautiful people, because we all know the actual supermodel wars were resolved via peace talks led by George Michael. Instead, it will focus on the real-life tensions between Ford Model Agency and Elite Model Management thirty years ago. Ford had the model-representation market cornered until Paris-based Elite expanded to New York, and the two agencies battled it out for clients.
Crawford, who appeared on over 400 magazine covers in the ’80s and ’90s, was privy to this fight as an Elite model, but will fictionalize the events for the small screen. Anne Heche and James Tupper (Revenge) are producing, and The Hunger Games producer Robin Bissell has signed on to write the show.