Other New TV Shows Based on Classic Literature

“NBC is eyeing a fresh spin on a literary classic, with a partially gender-swapped police procedural take on The Great Gatsbyin development … It’s billed as a modern-day police procedural about Det. Jay Gatsby, a devilishly charming investigator with a con-man’s gift for reading human behavior, and decorated New York State Police Det. Nicole ‘Nicky’ Carraway, who was born to be a cop but dreams of becoming a writer.” –Deadline

N.Y.P.D.ickinson

A gender-bending spin on the work of the great American poetess, N.Y.P.D. Detective Emilio Dickinson (Wilmer Valderrama) is haunted by Hope (Hope Davis), a deadly murderer who always leaves a trademark feather at every crime scene. Emilio is unrelenting in his investigations. Murder does not deter him, which explains his catchphrase: “I will NOT stop for death.”

Puck Finn
Heated Rivalry in the antebellum South. Puck Finn (the bald kid from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms) can never quite fit in—probably because he’s trying to play ice hockey in the summer in 1830s Missouri. He also has to crack the case of the murder of his former lover/hockey nemesis, Tom Sawyer (the son of the guy who played the “Dell Dude” in the “Dude, You’re Getting a Dell!” commercials), because he is convinced Tom faked his own death.

Bill C. Bills

Detective William Carlos Williams (Kyle MacLachlan) must pursue the caper of who ate the plums in the icebox.

Of Mice and Mentalist

Detective George “Mice” Milton (Ansel Elgort) teams up with the guy from The Mentalist (whose name escapes us at the moment). George was framed for the murder of his best friend, Lennie. Together, Mice and Mentalist are on the run, solvin’ crimes committed by the little folk in America—all while fighting a mysterious organization known only as “The Rabbits.” CBS has already greenlit the show for nine seasons.

The Old Man and the C.I.A.

A spinoff of the FBI spinoff C.I.A., The Old Man and the C.I.A. asks: “What would happen if an old, white man was the star of a network procedural?” Starring the reanimated corpse of Charlton Heston as a retired C.I.A. agent, he’ll come back and teach the young’uns how you catch the big fish.

sLAUGHTERhouse-Five

Think M.A.S.H. meets The X-Files. In this multi-cam sitcom, Billie Pilgrim (Mariska Hargitay) and her division of bodacious lady soldiers must survive behind enemy lines in Nazi Germany while competing for the love of hunky alien, Dorian Tralfama (Kevin Hart).

SuLaw

Follow the trials (get it?) and sexy tribulations of attorney Susan Laroche and her firm SuLAW. Susan, best known as Sula, leads this show, which is like Suits but set in… Ohio? The book is set in Ohio? Really? Uh, let’s just say it’s in Chicago. Look, we didn’t really read this one, but we know it’s like “important.” We have Kerry Washington attached. It’s greenlit because people might turn it on thinking it’s a new episode of Scandal.

The Grapes of Wrexham

So, you know Welcome to Wrexham? The reality show where Deadpool and Rob Mac bought a Welsh soccer team? Now they’re moving the franchise to California. Plus, the California Raisins are reuniting to sing the theme song.

Lonesome Dave

In this neo-Western by Taylor Sheridan, Lonesome Dave (Kelsey Grammer) must school the young, blue-haired liberals moving into his hometown on how life is really lived in the free and pure American West. Forget your wind turbines—out here, oil is king, but also Tulsa King is king (these shows are all connected). Dave must solve the mystery of why his woke daughter won’t let him see his grandkids.

Their Eyes Were Watching Ghosts

You’ve heard of the hit CBS sitcom, Ghosts. Well, get ready for the ultimate TV experience: watching a group of people watch Ghosts. That’s it. That’s the show. Twenty-two minutes (with commercials) of different families across the nation watching this week’s episode of Ghosts. You can’t watch Ghosts. Their eyes are watching Ghosts; your eyes are watching them. You can still kinda hear the episode, though. Since the original novel dealt with a lot of racial politics, each episode ends with the family reading a quote from The New Jim Crow.

NCIS: Mango Street

Lt. Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Lou Diamond Phillips) and his unit must investigate naval crimes in a tenement building in the Hispanic part of town in Chicago. How does this count as naval crimes? Shut up. Okay? You love NCIS. America loves NCIS. Everyone wants more NCIS. What else are you gonna watch when you’re home sick? The Americans? Grow up. You’ll watch NCIS.

• Television
• The Great Gatsby
• Literature

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