10 Upcoming Movies-Turned-TV Shows To Watch After Westworld

TV has gone to the movies to take inspiration on many an occasion throughout the last half-century. With - it’s fair to say - some pretty mixed results.

M*A*S*H, Stargate and Buffy may have made the migration from film to TV with spectacular success. Ferris Bueller, Dirty Dancing and Working Girl, unfortunately (but not surprisingly), did not.

Of course, TV is a very different animal today than it was even a decade ago. It’s an era of HBO, Netflix and Amazon, of big budgets and high production values.

And, buoyed by recent successes, with Friday Night Lights, Fargo and Westworld springing readily to mind, the major networks are turning their attention ever more keenly towards the movies (new and old) as they seek those big ideas that will go from pilot to multi-season mega-hits.

Such as these film-inspired TV shows very much on the horizon.

The Film

Transferring the timeless tale of seduction and betrayal from the aristocracy of 18th Century France, to the privileged prep school environment of late 90s New York, Cruel Intentions was an acidic update on the classic French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Vicious satire, jet-black humour and some wickedly sardonic performances from Ryan Phillipe and Sarah Michelle Gellar made this a brilliantly spiteful addition to the teen drama genre.

The TV Show

Two alternate pilots have already been filmed for NBC, with Gellar reprising her role as the manipulative Kathryn Merteuil. Set fifteen years after the events of the film, Merteuil is now all grown-up and married into the Upper Manhattan set, and out to win control of the family empire.

Sadly, the project has hit a bit of a road-block with NBC announcing that it wouldn’t be taking up its option on the show. That’s not to say it’s a dead duck, however, with Sony Television now pitching it to other networks. Don’t be surprised to see this pop up on a certain streaming platform.

Will It Work?

The film’s success came from an unabashed cynicism at its core. If the show retains that edge then this has House of Cards like potential. If not, then there’s a danger of it becoming Dynasty.