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First True Lies and now, with Fatal Attraction set to arrive, it looks like we’ll be seeing more television reboots of the 80s and 90s movies in 2023. Fatal Attraction is a re-imagination of the eponymous 1987 film directed by Adrian Lyne, written by James Dearden, and featuring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close in leading roles. Now, nearly 40 years later, the erotic psychological thriller is coming back to life in a series form on Paramount+. The upcoming series is written by Alexandra Cunningham, and Kevin J. Hynes and directed by Silver Tree.
The plot of the series takes after the original film’s plot where a married man’s one-night stand takes an explosive turn when his lover refuses to end it and starts to haunt him and his family.
Although the premise is the same, many elements in the story have been updated in the series for fresher perspectives and to add modern sensibilities to the characters and theme. That will also probably change the tone of the story, but we’ll only find that out when the series arrives. Meanwhile, you can always catch up on the 1987 film which is currently streaming on Showtime.
The television adaptation of the 1987 hit was announced at Paramount+’s Television Critics Association presentation in February 2021. At the same time, the network also announced that the network is all to reboot several of its earlier films into series, like Flashdance, Love Story, The Italian Job, and The Parallax View. But all that in good time. For now, it’s time for Fatal Attraction which is set to hit the streaming platform this spring. So, check out our handy guide below and find out about the plot, trailer, release date, cast and characters, and everything we know so far about Fatal Attraction.
Editor's Note: This article was last updated on April 5 with the latest trailer.
When Is Fatal Attraction’s Release Date?
A network original, Fatal Attraction is set to premiere on Sunday, April 30, 2023, exclusively on Paramount+ in US and Canada, and the following day, i.e., on May 1, 2023, in Latin America, UK, Australia, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and France.
How Many Episodes Are There in Fatal Attraction?
Fatal Attraction is slated for eight episodes, with the first two episodes streaming together on the day of the release, on April 30, 2023. After that, the following episodes will stream weekly every Sunday in US and Canada and on Mondays, in other international territories.
The final episode of the series is expected to stream on June 11, 2023.
Is There a Fatal Attraction Trailer?
There have been two trailers released so far for Fatal Attractions. The first teaser trailer was released in March 2023, followed by a full-length official trailer, released on April 3, 2023. The one-minute teaser clip straightaway gets to the plot by introducing Joshua Jackson as Dan and Lizzy Caplan as Alex, who are instantly attracted to each other on their first meeting in an elevator. There’s an outright innuendo from Alex about the emergency stop button, and it’s obvious that she wants something to happen between them. And something does happen, as we see in the consequent scenes, which turns out to be a rather complicated affair. With ominous, tense, background music, the teaser ends with Alex meeting Dan’s wife. Although the first teaser is very short and doesn’t reveal much, it’s not hard to guess where the story is headed, especially if you have seen the 1987 film. Unlike the film, the series adaptation takes a more slow-burn approach and is likely to have more emphasis on Alex’s personality and her behavior with Dan.
With the newly released, full-length trailer, it gets much easier to understand the entire plot and learn a little more about Jackson’s Dan and Caplan’s Alex. But the highlight of the trailer is the big reveal that makes this series very different from the original film. Instead of leaving Alex to her own devices as in the film, the series shows that she is killed and Dan gets charged with her murder. The latest trailer also reveals that the series would probably run in flashback, where Dan is convicted of killing Alex and the story will be narrated from his point of view, as he attempts to prove his innocence. So, in a way, it looks like the series may turn out to be more of a murder mystery/crime thriller than just an erotic thriller.
Who's In the Fatal Attraction Cast?
Except for the lead characters of Dan Gallagher, his wife Beth, daughter Ellen, and his lover, Alex Forrest, all the other characters for the series are new and do not appear in the original film. While it might be hard to imagine anyone else portraying Douglas and Close’s award-winning roles, a re-imagination of the story definitely calls for reimagining the characters for the present-day audience and so far the cast of the upcoming series seems very interesting.
In the 1987 film, Michael Douglas played the role of Dan Gallagher and Glenn Close portrayed Alex Forrest who will now be played by Joshua Jackson and Lizzy Caplan.
Fringe star Jackson stars as Daniel Gallagher, a married man with a wife and a daughter, and also a New York City lawyer. He ends up having an affair with Alex Forrest. Castle Rock star Caplan portrays Alex, who gets obsessed with Dan when he wants to end their affair.
Dirty John star Amanda Peet features as Beth Gallagher, Dan’s wife, and Ellen’s mother.
The ensemble cast of Fatal Attraction also includes Alyssa Jirrels (Saved by the Bell) as Ellen Gallagher, Toby Huss (Blonde) as Mike Gerard, Reno Wilson (Good Girls) as Detective Earl Booker, and Brian Goodman (Dirty John) as Arthur Tomlinson.
Who Are the Creators of Fatal Attraction?
Paramount Plus’s Fatal Attraction is created by Alexandra Cunningham and Kevin J. Hynes.
Cunningham is a television producer, writer, and showrunner, who is best known as producer/consulting producer for Desperate Housewives, and executive producer/showrunner for Chance, Dirty John, Aquarius, and Prime Suspect, among other shows. She is the showrunner for the upcoming series. J. Hynes is also a producer and has previously worked with Cunningham on Dirty John, as well as on shows like The Offer, Perry Mason, and Scorpion.
The series is directed by writer-producer-director Silver Tree, who is most known for directing popular series like Suits, Shameless, You, The Flight Attendant, and Dead to Me, among many others.
Tree, Cunningham, and J.Hynes also serve as executive producers on the series along with Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey. Stanley Jaffe and Sherry Lansing, who had produced the 1987 film, also executive produce the series.
What Is the Background of the Fatal Attraction Series?
The series Fatal Attraction is based on the eponymous psychological thriller released in 1987. The film was directed by Adrian Lyne (Indecent Proposal) and written by James Dearden (Pascali’s Island) and was taken from Dearden’s 1980 short film, Diversion. The original Fatal Attraction starred Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer, Ellen Foley, Jane Krakowski, and Lois Smith, among many others.
On its release, the film became an instant hit and a massive box-office success, which has been pegged to the dark thriller narrative and outstanding performances of Douglas and Close. Fatal Attraction became the second-highest-grossing film of 1987 and the biggest film of the year. As much as it garnered critical acclaim and positive reviews, including several nominations at the 60th Academy Awards, Fatal Attraction also became a huge topic of controversy for an aggressive portrayal of Alex Forrest’s character. However, in the later years, Fatal Attraction became an important subject of discussion among psychiatrists and film experts and became a major cinematic reference to portray borderline personality disorder as shown in films of the late 80s and 90s. The film even gave rise to the term "bunny boiler" which is used to describe an obsessive, spurned woman. It comes from a scene in the movie where we discover that Alex boils the family’s pet rabbit (we are almost certain that would not be in the series).
What Is the Story of Fatal Attraction?
Daniel “Dan” Gallagher is a happily married man. And then he has a one-night stand with a mysterious woman named Alex Forrest turns into a whirlwind affair. And the affair gets complicated. While Dan sees it as something fun and exciting, Alex takes this very seriously, to the point of getting obsessed with him, to the point of stalking him and getting involved with his family.
As per the official synopsis, Fatal Attraction is a
“A deep-dive reimagining of the classic 80's thriller, exploring timeless themes of marriage and infidelity through the lens of modern attitudes toward strong women, personality disorders, and coercive control.”