Amazon Studios is developing a small-screen version of Oscar winning crime epic The Departed (2006).
The online giant is producing the series alongside Vertigo Entertainment, Initial Entertainment Group, Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment and Warner Bros TV, all of whom worked on Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed feature film.
The exciting new series will be steered by showrunner Jason Richman (Detroit 1-8-7) and will evolve around Chicago gang culture rather than the Boston mafia.
And much like The Departed movie, the story will center around two men - one a cop, the other a criminal – who go undercover. The story will feature a brave young policeman who infiltrates a powerful Latino drug cartel, which also happens to have one of their own men in the police department.
Richman will exec-produce The Departed TV show alongside heavyweight producer Graham King, who bagged a Best Picture Oscar for the Scorsese movie.
The big screen version, which was inspired by Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs (2002), starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg and the legendary Jack Nicholson in his last truly great screen performance.
Not only did The Departed win four Oscars, including Scorsese’s first and only Academy Award for Best Director, it was also a massive commercial hit, grossing $290 million from a $90 million budget.
Amazon Studios is also developing a series based on Tom Clancy’s iconic character Jack Ryan, who will be played by John Krasinski (The Office).
Stay tuned for more The Departed news.
Source: Deadline
About Mark Hodge
Speak Your Mind