Normally when a TV show gets a series order, that’s when everyone is off to the races and production begins. That’s apparently what happened with the upcoming Apple TV+ series, “Shantaram,” which stars Charlie Hunnam. One problem—the scripts weren’t done. Oops.
According to Variety, production has been halted on “Shantaram” as writer-showrunner Eric Warren Singer hasn’t been able to keep the scripts coming in time, leading to a backlog. With only two episodes in the can, the series is taking a break for Singer to catch up and get the production back on track. For those unaware of the writer’s credits, Singer is probably best known as the scriptwriter for films such as “American Hustle” and “Top Gun: Maverick.”
“Shantaram” tells the story of a drug-addicted former bank robber that runs away to Mumbai to help reinvent himself. The series is based on a novel by Gregory David Roberts. In addition to Singer and Hunnam’s involvement, filmmaker Justin Kurzel has previously been signed to direct five of the 10 episodes. Though, it’s unclear how this hiatus will affect that.
The report claims that outlines for all 10 episodes have been completed, but Singer is just behind on the scripts. Production is expected to be delayed by “several months” while the writer does his best to get ahead of the schedule. In addition, the producers are hiring another showrunner to help shepherd the series along.
Obviously, with its extremely limited library of original content, Apple TV+ is not in a position to have this sort of thing happen. Unfortunately, when you create TV series and films, this is the exact type of thing that does occur from time to time. Obviously, there’s no release date set for “Shantaram,” but we’ll be keeping an eye on it, for sure.
