Netflix has landed the latest drama series from creator Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, American Crime Story). Ratched, an origin story revolving around the infamous Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, has been picked up by the streaming giant.
Sarah Paulson is set to star as a younger version of the character made famous by Louise Fletcher, who won an Academy Award for the role. Production is set to begin in mid-2018, with Murphy himself directing the first episode as he does on all of his series.
According to Deadline, Netflix won a bidding war that also included Hulu and Apple to score a two-season, 18 episode order.
The show will take place in 1947, and will follow Ratched’s evolution from nurse to monster, and track her murderous progression through the mental health care system. The script has been written by Evan Romansky, and Murphy liked the script enough to spend a year securing the rights for the character from producer Saul Zaentz‘s estate as well as producer of the original film, Michael Douglas.
This will be Murphy’s first streaming series, and considering his recent success under both banners of the American series, it’s hard not to be excited about Ratched‘s potential. Like the similar Psycho prequel Bates Motel, time will tell if we truly need an origin story of such a classic character, but with Paulson on board at least it’s bound to be a captivating character.
#Peace.Love.Ratched
