The Departed is getting re-adapted for television at Amazon

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Get ready to smell another rat, this time across a longer-form story and on Amazon's streaming platform.

THE DEPARTED, the Best Picture winner at the 79th Academy Awards which starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg, is being re-adapted, this time as a series for Amazon, with Vertigo Entertainment, Initial Entertainment Group and Plan B Entertainment – all of which produced Martin Scorsese's 2006 film – partnering up with Warner Bros. Television on the development. 

Jason Richman (the ABC series DETROIT 1-8-7) has written the new spin on the material, which was respun from the 2002 Hong Kong film INFERNAL AFFAIRS. This time, the series will be set in Chicago with a cop going undercover in the Latino gang scene to try to infiltrate their operation while a mole is positioned within the police department. Much like its big screen take, the story will follow both characters as they try to navigate the pressures of keeping up their ends of their respective deals while maintaining cover. 

Hmmm… This could actually work. The premise alone is solid as it is, but now take your time to really explore these characters over several seasons instead of two-plus hours and you've got a potentially compelling show on your hands.