HBO and Paramount Television are eyeing a trip to Shutter Island.
The premium cable network is in the early stages of developing a prequel series based on the 2010 feature film Shutter Island, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Ashecliffe would take place at the isolated mental hospital depicted in the Leonardo DiCaprio starrer, with the potential TV series serving as a prequel to the movie and taking place before the events in the film. The drama would explore the hospital's past and misdeeds by its founders — a la FX's American Horror Story: Asylum.
As he did with the feature film, based on Dennis Lehane's 2003 novel, Martin Scorsese would direct the pilot — should the project move forward. Lehane would pen the script alongside Tom Bernardo for the HBO prequel. Scorsese, Lehane, Brad Fischer, Appian Way's DiCaprio and Jennifer Killoran Davisson, feature co-writer Laeta Kalgridis,Rick Yorn, Chris Donnelly, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Mike Medavoy and Arnie Messer will serve as exec producers.
The project continues HBO's relationship with Scorsese, who is prepping an untitled 1970s rock 'n' roll drama with his Boardwalk Empire cohort Terrence Winter and Breaking Bad's George Mastras starring Bobby Cannavale. Both projects come as the final season of Boardwalk Empire is set to unspool in September.
For Paramount TV, Ashercliffe comes as the division continues to mine the studio's film library. Par TV recently received a straight-to-series order at Nickelodeon for a live-action School of Rock adaptation. The studio, which returned to TV production with 2013's ill-fated Beverly Hills Cop CBS pilot, also is tapping into its feature library for small-screen takes on Ghost, Terminator and The Truman Show, among other original fare including Fox's live production of Grease.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
