Get Shorty on EPIX
The Elmore Leonard Classic Makes The Jump To TV
Elmore Leonard is one of the most revered names in crime fiction. His works have been turned into movies and television shows dozens of time, dating all the way back to 1957’s motion picture adaptation of 3:10 to Yuma to FX‘s hit Timothy Olyphant series, Justified. One of his most famous novels, 1990’s Get Shorty, was made into a hit movie in 1995. The film starred John Travolta and Gene Hackman, and was a tight comedy-thriller, as well as a scathing satire of Hollywood sensibilities.
Now, EPIX, the premium cable network responsible for shows like Berlin Station and Graves, is taking another shot at Get Shorty, adapting the novel once again, this time for the television space. Hunky Irish leading man Chris O’ Dowd stars as Miles Daly, a mafia hitman who decides to try his hand at being a Hollywood movie producer. Shoot-outs and pitch-black comedy ensue.
EPIX, being a premium channel along the lines of HBO and Showtime, doesn’t have the same content restrictions as regular TV networks like ABC or CBS, so Get Shorty is free to blend the grit and the glitz, like in the movie, as well as the original novel. The film version of Get Shorty was followed by a a 2005 sequel, Be Cool, which fans and critics agree was completely derailed by having to acquiesce to the content standards of the family-friendly PG-13 rating. The show is produced by Davey Holmes, the man responsible for pull-no-punches programs like Damages and Shameless, so hopes are high for this latest venture.
Will Get Shorty join the ranks of beloved Elmore Leonard adaptations like Out of Sight and Jackie Brown? Or will it be a short-lived classic that was cancelled too soon, like Karen Sisco starring Carla Gugino?
Find out when Get Shorty debuts on EPIX on August 13.