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Is network television about to enter the golden age of neo-noir? Surely, there would be no better place to start than with an adaptation of James Ellroy's electric 1990 novel L.A. Confidential, which Variety just announced is currently in development at CBS.
The novel—Ellroy's ninth, and the third entry in his “L.A. Quartet”—has previously been adapted for screen, albeit the big one. Yes, this is that same L.A. Confidential. The 1997 film of same title, which starred Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger, Russel Crowe, Kevin Spacey and Danny Devito, was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won two.
Jordan Harper of The Mentalist is set to write and executive produce the CBS series. Harper is also currently adapting his novel She Rides Shotgun for a movie with Parkes+MacDonald. According to Deadline, Harper's screenplay for L.A. Confidential "follows three homicide detectives, a female reporter and a Hollywood actress whose paths intersect as the detectives pursue a sadistic serial killer through the seedy underbelly of glamorous 1950s Los Angeles."
Variety reports that New Regency, Lionsgate Television and CBS Television Studios will produce the forthcoming show, with New Regency’s Arnon Milchan serving as executive producer. Milchan also served as a producer on the film adaptation.
We'll keep our fingers crossed that this small-screen version of L.A. Confidential fares better than the last one; in 2003, an L.A. Confidential pilot starring Kiefer Sutherland (!) was produced, but it wasn't picked up for TV and ultimately never made it much further than the special features section of the film's DVD/Blu-ray re-release.
In the meantime, please enjoy the "Come to Los Angeles" opening from the film:
