Joshua Jackson (and his weird hairdo) will star in Fatal Attraction this April
Paramount Plus' take on Fatal Attraction also features Lizzy Caplan and Amanda Peet. The question is: Will there be bunnies?
If you’re a fan of the Adrian Lyne-directed psychological, erotic thriller Fatal Attraction, get ready for a revamped take on the 1987 film. Joshua Jackson leads the limited series of the same name (in what looks like a bizarro wig), along with Lizzy Caplan and Amanda Peet. Paramount+ announced during the Television Critics Association (TCA) winter press tour that the show premieres on April 30.
Written and executive produced by Alexandra Cunningham (Desperate Housewives, Dirty John), the eight-part drama follows married lawyer Dan Gallagher’s (Jackson) sordid affair with a coworker, Alex Forrest (Caplan), disrupting his home life with his wife, Beth (Peet), and their young daughter, Ellen. Things worsen when Dan has to deal with the consequences of his decision, and Alex finds it tough to let go of their relationship.
In this modern update, Fatal Attraction explores themes of marriage, infidelity, mental health, and how society views women. Caplan told reporters at the TCA panel that she finds it difficult to watch the 1987 film despite being a fan. “The ‘80s audience sees it as a binary hero vs. villain story. It’s tough to see Alex only as a villain. But the lens through which we view things has altered dramatically,” she said. “We are poised to ask more about the characters we can explore in an eight-hour TV show.”
Paramount+ shared more photos from the episodes, which feature an intense interaction between the three leads, and thankfully, a very adorable dog.
Fatal Attraction also does some classic timeline-jumping—can a TV show even exist without employing that narrative device anymore? The show stars Alyssa Jirrels, who plays a grown-up Ellen as she deals with how her parents’ relationship imploded after her father’s affair. Cunningham told reporters that portraying Ellen’s story to expand the world of the film was one of the angles that drew her to the series. “The property was ripe to be looked at differently. It represents all character’s points-of-view except, not just Dan’s.”
The cast includes Toby Huss, Reno Wilson, Brian Goodman, Wanda De Jesus, Toks Olagundoye, and Jon Getz. It’s still TBD if any bunnies show up for Alex to roast, but would it be Fatal Attraction without that?
The show will premiere with two episodes on April 30, with the remaining six every week.