HBO developing new TV series based on Michael Crichton’s Sphere

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

With Westworld set to enter its fourth season, HBO is looking to stay in the Michael Crichton business with an adaptation of "Sphere." The 1987 novel focused on a group of scientists in an underwater facility who encounter a mysterious spacecraft on the ocean floor which has been there for hundreds of years.

Denise Thé, who worked as a writer and executive producer on the third season of Westworld, will be serving as showrunner of the series. "Sphere plunges us one thousand feet into the ocean," reads the series description via Entertainment Weekly, "where a group of scientists confronts the surreal, beautiful, and deadly mysteries of the universe, only to find the people closest to us may prove to be the most alien." This won't be the first time that the Michael Crichton novel has been adapted, as "Sphere" was also made into a 1998 movie that starred Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, and Samuel L. Jackson. Unfortunately, the film was something of a flop, but in my opinion, that leaves the HBO series with nowhere to go but up. Westworld showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy are on board as executive producers, as are Robert Downey Jr. Susan Downey, Amanda Burrell, and Athena Wickham.

Although it's admittedly been some time since I last watched SPHERE, I do recall enjoying the film somewhat, and it did contain a few interesting ideas that would definitely benefit from getting more room to breathe in a TV series.