HBO picks up Maniac Cop series from Nicolas Winding Refn and John Hyams

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Nicolas Winding Refn and John Hyams have been working on a remake of the William Lustig-directed, Larry Cohen-scripted 1988 classic MANIAC COP for over four years at this point, so a lot of fans have given up hope that it will ever happen. In fact, at one point Cohen flat-out said it wasn't going to happen. But now it looks like this new take on the concept of MANIAC COP is going to go into production – not as a feature film, but as a television series.

HBO has given the greenlight to the "event series" and will be airing it in North America. Canal+ has acquired the French rights.

The Maniac Cop series will be the first production for Refn's company byNWR Originals. Refn and Hyams will be executive producing the show alongside Nick Hall, Lene Borglum, Frederic Fiore, Alex Gayner, Efe Cakarel, and William Lustig.

Refn will serve as showrunner, and he and Hyams will be sharing directorial duties.

While the original MANIAC COP was set in New York, the TV show will move the setting to Los Angeles. The story will be

told through a kaleidoscope of characters, from cop to common criminal. A killer in uniform has uncaged mayhem upon the streets. Paranoia leads to social disorder as a city wrestles with the mystery of the exterminator in blue – is he mere mortal, or a supernatural force? 

So how did the remake become a TV show? Refn explains, 

We’ve been talking about a re-imagining of the Maniac Cop films for a number of years, but as we continued to work on the material, we found ourselves wanting to explore the world we were creating in greater depth. Turning Maniac Cop into a series will allow us to realize our wildest ambitions and to reach an enormous audience though partners HBO and Canal+. This show will be an unadulterated, action-packed horror odyssey. Given the current state of the world, though, Maniac Cop will also be a strong commentary on the decline of civilization."

Given the style of most of Refn's work, when I heard that he would be showrunner and directing some of the episodes I was immediately concerned that he might turn Maniac Cop into something that moves way too slowly. I'm glad to hear him describe this as an "action-packed horror odyssey", that gives me hope that this won't be his usual slow burn.

We'll be keeping a very close eye on this series as it gets pieced together.