Print
Close
'Varsity Blues' TV series reboot in development at CMT
By Elizabeth Wagmeister, Elizabeth Wagmeister
Published August 17, 2016
(Paramount)
Another reboot is making its way to television — this time, a "Varsity Blues" show, based on the 1999 film, is being developed at CMT, Variety has confirmed.
Sources say the project is very early in development, but CMT bought a script for the potential series. The original movie’s writer, W. Peter Iliff, is writing the script and Paramount TV is producing.
"Varsity Blues" became a cult favorite, surprisingly making over $54 million at the box office. The coming-of-age football flick starred James Van Der Beek, Paul Walker, Jon Voight, Ron Lester and Scott Caan. As for the TV project, Deadline first reported the development news.
The recognizable and beloved title is a "get" for CMT, which has been ramping up its original content lately and making noise with consumer-friendly programming choices — most recently by picking up "Nashville," after ABC cancelled the fan-favorite series.
More From Variety
For Paramount TV, the "Varsity Blues" series is the second project based on a Paramount film to be announced today, following Amazon’s "Jack Ryan" series, which was given the greenlight this morning. Since its relaunch in 2013, Paramount TV has been building up their slate at a rapid pace. Among their current development projects is "13 Reasons Why" at Netflix, produced by Selena Gomez; "Maniac" at Netflix, starring Jonah Hill and Emma Stone; and a "Battlefield" series, based on the popular video games.
"Varsity Blues" is the latest film property to get the television reboot treatment. Coming up on the broadcast networks in the 2016-2017 season is CW’s "Frequency," CBS’s "Training Day," plus Fox’s upcoming revivals of "The Exorcist" and "Lethal Weapon."
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/varsity-blues-tv-series-reboot-in-development-at-cmt