According to Variety, Peacock is developing a TV series based on the 1996 thriller film Fear. Jessica Goldberg (The Path) is attached to write and executive produce the show.
The original 1996 film starred Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon, with the latter’s seemingly perfect life threatened when she begins dating an attractive and mysterious young man. It was usually described as Fatal Attraction for teens, and became a sleeper hit, grossing over $20 million on a $6.5 million budget.
This is not the first time that a new version of Fear has been attempted. Back in 2019, it was being developed as a film remake with Amandla Stenberg as the star, Oscar nominee Jonathan Herman as the screenwriter, and Brian Grazer – producer of the original film – returning in the same role. But news on that version went cold, and Universal have now pivoted to a series instead.
The official logline of the series states: “This modern series reinvention finds two young lovers in a psychological game of cat and mouse – but who’s the cat, and who’s the mouse?
When David and Nicole first meet in Seattle, it feels like an epic, once-in-a-lifetime romance – but soon it becomes clear that the seemingly perfect couple is anything but. Told from conflicting points of view, the series wrestles with personal demons, hidden agendas and reframes the ‘he said she said’ convention into a twist-filled suspense story about toxic relationships.”
Goldberg previously found success in the television world with Hulu series The Path, which starred Aaron Paul and Michelle Monaghan, and revolved around members of a fictional religion known as Meyerism. It ran for three seasons. She was most recently a showrunner on Hilary Swank series Away, and was also a credited screenwriter for the Tom Holland film Cherry.
Fear is quite a simple film at heart, so the initial reaction of it becoming a series might be one of skepticism. But the logline suggests that the premise will be used as a deeper exploration of contemporary relationships. So don’t expect it to be too much like the 1996 film, but it sounds like it could certainly be interesting.
#Peace.Love.Fear
