Scalped: 8 Reasons It's Going To Make An Amazing TV Show
Vertigo's "The Wire on a rez" could be the best comic-to-TV adap yet.
Jason Aaron and artist RM Guera's cult- and critical-hit crime saga, Scalped, was a 60-issue tour de force, a blistering portrayal of crime, corruption, identity, society and spirituality on a Native American reservation in modern-day South Dakota.
Yet another jewel in Vertigo's indie comics crown, the book was lauded for its mash-up of pulpy noir and a myriad of other pop culture influences, whilst finally giving Native American a strong opus of its own - shining a spotlight on countless issues affecting First Nations people both past and present, all delivered with a healthy dose of respect for a culture largely ignored by America at large.
Basic cable channel WGN America (responsible for such output as Manhattan and Salem) bought the adaptation rights to Scalped last year. Whilst the channel has yet to fully join the ranks of their duly-respected competition in the world of prestige TV (HBO, AMC etc.), this adaptation could be the show to make them a contender.
With the right showrunner and a healthy respect for the source material, Scalped has the ability to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other crime epics like The Wire or Boardwalk Empire and be revered for decades to come. There are many reasons why this would be, and most of them pertain to remaining faithful to the source material.
As long as WGN do that (easier said than done, right?), there's no reason why TV's Scalped can't go on to build up a nice cabinet full of Emmys.
8. A Beginning, A Middle, And An End
As successful as HBO's Game of Thrones has been, a big question mark hovers over the show as no one really knows how it ends. As the original text has yet to be completed, there's no guarantee that the finale of the story will be satisfying to viewers.
When it comes to DC's television output like Arrow and The Flash, these are based off of comic books that have been running for decades - the people behind the TV adaptations can pick and choose which elements they want and can eventually finish where they please, which is fine.
Scalped, on the other hand, exists as a completed text. It has a beginning, a middle and an end. The finale of the comic book is a fantastic one, giving very fitting endings to all its characters, players both main and supporting. It could be extremely easy for the people adaptating the comic into a show to follow that ending verbatim, and please not only the original readers but incoming viewers as well (as the satisfaction of the ending is already tried and tested).
As with every adaptation, however, there will be a certain amount of artistic licence taken during the transition of page to screen. It's par for the course; a comic book is not a TV show, a book is not a film, and vice versa for each scenario. It's the same story with every adaptation. In this case, as Scalped is a finished story - one with a coherent first act, second act and third - it will be easy and enjoyable to suss out where the showrunners will deviate from the original story (and hopefully be understandable where they choose to stray).
The story is laid out for them, with Jason Aaron and RM Guera's heart right there on the page. All the decisions the original creators made are obvious in the telling, and it will give the showrunner's greater impetus and judgement in what to keep and what not to. In the end, we know how Scalped wraps up; it'll be mighty hard for those creating the show to fumble the ball when the play is right there, written down.