An American remake of the British hit superhero drama series (although not your typical Hollywood superhero series) is something that’s been talked about over the years; as early as 2011 (we told about the possibility back then). In addition, there was also talk of a “Misfits” movie. The show’s creator, Howard Overman, told us in 2012 that he’d written the first draft of the script, adding “we’ll see what happens… If it happens, it will involve past and present characters, I’m not allowed to give away anything more than that…”
With regards to the American remake of the TV series, when it was made public 6 years ago, “Gossip Girl” producer Josh Schwartz was said to be attached, although no network had picked it up.
Since then, we’ve heard nothing about a TV series remake or film adaptation of “Misfits” – something that die-hard fans of the original series are probably happy to hear; as I recall, most of you weren’t exactly pleased with the idea of a Hollywood studio touching your beloved franchise.
But not-so fast my friends…
Deadline is reporting that Freeform has given a pilot order to “Misfits” with “Gossip Girl’s” Josh Schwartz still very much attached, and Victoria Mahoney (“Yelling to the Sky”) directing the pilot episode (her debut pilot; she’s directed episodes of other TV series, including “”Queen Sugar,” “American Crime,” “Survivor’s Remorse,” “Power” and the upcoming “Claws” to name a few).
Freeform has also shored-up most of its cast which, like the original series, will be diverse, including Ashleigh Lathrop, Tre Hall, Allie MacDonald and Jake Cannavale.
“Misfits,” which aired on channel E4, follows a group of juvenile offenders sentenced to work in a community service program, where they obtain supernatural powers after a strange electrical storm. The series premiered on E4 in 2009 and ended in 2013 after 5 seasons.
The program, which won several BAFTA awards, originally starred Nathan Stewart Jarrett, Antonia Thomas, Lauren Socha, Robert Sheehan, and Iwan Rheon. Ruth Negga and Zawe Ashton also made appearances during the show’s first two seasons. Long-time readers of this blog will of course be familiar with Jarrett, Thomas, Negga and Ashton who all went to *bigger* things.
The cast changed during successive seasons.
“Misfits” is a funny, clever, well-written series that takes chances, and comes with what would be considered offensive language and some sexuality. If you’ve never seen a single episode, all 5 seasons are currently streaming on Hulu, so do yourself a favor and add “Misfits” to your binge-watch list (if you have Hulu).
A tip of the hat to Freeform (formerly ABC Family) for the wealth of new original programming that’s been greenlit or is in development for the network: There’s the “Black-Ish” spin-off; and 2 live-action Marvel series, “Marvel’s New Warriors” and “Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger” to name a few.
