Arlington Road, the 1999 neo-noir thriller starring Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, and Hope Davis, is prepping a possible return as a TV series. It has been announced that Paramount+ is in the beginning stages of developing the project from the film's director Mark Pellington.
Seth Fisher, the co-executive producer of The Alienist, will be writing the TV series adaptation while Pellington, who is also set to direct the potential series, will executive produce alongside Fisher. In the film, a widowed George Washington University professor suspects his new neighbors are involved in terrorism and he becomes obsessed with foiling their terrorist plot. Written by Ehren Kruger, the movie was heavily inspired by the paranoid culture of the 1990s, and Pellington explains how the world envisioned in that film will be depicted in this modern TV update:
"Arlington Road the series manifests the thematic essence of the film and integrates it with a modern perspective. The world envisioned by the film has become a scary, paranoid place and the suspenseful series will depict that with the character-driven script and tonal integrity of the original film."
Arlington Road received decent reviews from critics upon its release, securing a 63% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Sony Pictures paid $6 million to acquire the film's United States distribution rights and it went on to become the second title to be released by Screen Gems (and its first wide theatrical release). Carrying a $31 million budget, the film went on to gross $24.7 million domestically and $41 million worldwide.
I could see this being adapted into a pretty compelling TV show. I haven't watched the film in a few years but I do remember it being well-acted and it offered up some intriguing ideas in regards to the paranoid culture of the era. One could argue that this concept has only become more relevant in today's world so it will be interesting to see how a TV show tackles the subject matter.
Would YOU watch the Arlington Road TV show?