Sure, there may be some issues with how narratives sometimes are their own worst enemy during the otherwise terrific new era of Peak TV, but one thing we can all probably agree on is that it’s pretty great to see directors and writers being able to dive into long-form storytelling. Steven Soderbergh is probably the best example of someone who found his creative mojo rejuvenated by going to the small screen as the helmer behind “The Knick” and executive producer of “The Girlfriend Experience,” and it’s probably not a surprise that Todd Field (“In The Bedroom,” “Little Children“) is making his long-awaited return behind the camera with the limited series “Purity.” Now, another filmmaker we admire is getting a chance to stretch out on the small screen.
READ MORE: ‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Bloodline,’ ‘Preacher’ & The Problems Of Plotting & Pacing In Peak TV
Ira Sachs (“Keep The Lights On,” “Love Is Strange,” this week’s “Little Men“) will co-write and direct a limited-series adaptation of “Christodora.” Based on the recently published novel by Tim Murphy, the drama will follow the interconnected lives of the tenants in a building in Manhattan’s East Village, with the narrative spanning from the ’80s all the way through the 2020s. Here’s the book synopsis:
In this vivid and compelling novel, Tim Murphy follows a diverse set of characters whose fates intertwine in an iconic building in Manhattan’s East Village, the Christodora. The Christodora is home to Milly and Jared, a privileged young couple with artistic ambitions. Their neighbor, Hector, a Puerto Rican gay man who was once a celebrated AIDS activist but is now a lonely addict, becomes connected to Milly and Jared’s lives in ways none of them can anticipate. Meanwhile, Milly and Jared’s adopted son Mateo grows to see the opportunity for both self-realization and oblivion that New York offers. As the junkies and protestors of the 1980s give way to the hipsters of the 2000s and they, in turn, to the wealthy residents of the crowded, glass-towered city of the 2020s, enormous changes rock the personal lives of Milly and Jared and the constellation of people around them. Moving kaleidoscopically from the Tompkins Square Riots and attempts by activists to galvanize a true response to the AIDS epidemic, to the New York City of the future, Christodora recounts the heartbreak wrought by AIDS, illustrates the allure and destructive power of hard drugs, and brings to life the ever-changing city itself.
Sounds like a great source material, and Sachs is going to have a solid team behind him, including producer Cary Fukunaga, who has certainly found great success on TV with “True Detective,” and has “Maniac” coming up for Netflix with Jonah Hill and Emma Stone, “Napoleon” for HBO, plus has a hand in TNT‘s “The Alienist.”
“Christodora” is set up at Paramount TV, and I can only imagine more than a few networks will be interested. [Deadline]