The Man Who Fell To Earth is getting another new home.
The Chiwetel Ejiofor-fronted drama, which is based on the Walter Tevis novel and the cult classic 1976 film starring David Bowie, is moving from Paramount+ to Showtime and comes after Deadline revealed that Halo made the reverse switch.
It is the third home for the project, which comes from Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet and John Hlavin. The series was originally set up in development at Hulu, before seguing to CBS All Access, nee Paramount+, before its latest move to the premium cable network.
The series will launch in 2022 with production set to begin in London in April.
It follows a new alien character who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution and must confront his own past to determine our future.
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Kurtzman and Lumet are writing and executive producing the series and will serve as showrunners alongside John Hlavin. Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly and Heather Kadin are also executive producing alongside Studiocanal’s Rola Bauer and Françoise Guyonnet. It is produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Timberman/Beverly. Studiocanal owns the rights to Tevis’ book and the Roeg film.
“We could not be more excited to bring The Man Who Fell To Earth to Showtime,” said Jana Winograde, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks. “This provocative drama, beautifully written by Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet and John Hlavin harkens to the original film but feels reborn in capturing the themes of modern culture while challenging our assumptions of human nature. Chiwetel Ejiofor is a mesmerizing actor who draws you in with every action, thought and emotion, and he will be a phenomenal force igniting this journey.”
“Everything about this extraordinary story and its creative origins demands a bold, subversive approach to exploring what it means to be human in a world that’s never been more connected and disconnected,” added Kurtzman, Lumet and Hlavin. “David Nevins and the entire CBS Studios team have really inspired us with their passion for this legacy, and we’re thrilled to call Showtime our new home.”