‘Ellery Queen’ Will Be A Woman in New Television Adaptation
The famous fictional detective Ellery Queen will be returning to the small screen after 45 years, only this time, as a woman.
Based on the series of books by cousins Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee, Ellery Queen follows a mystery writer in New York City who helps their police inspector father solve baffling murders. Incendo and BlackBox Multimedia have optioned the rights for a new TV adaptation, the first since 1976.
The novels and short stories originally inspired a radio series, several films, and four separate television series made from the 1950s through the 1970s. Queen was written as a male character in the original stories but is set to be reimagined as a woman in the new adaptation. There is no word yet on who will be playing the popular detective.
“Ellery Queen is one of the most definitive series of detective fiction to ever be written,” said BlackBox Multimedia CEO and creative director Giuliano Papadia (via Variety). “The stories have been global favorites for a huge part of the 20th and 21st Centuries.”
He continued: “They have fascinating plots, unique characters, and settings you love to get lost in. The team at Incendo are the perfect partners for helping modernize this excellent and timeless series of stories.”
Gavin Reardon, Incendo’s international sales & co-production executive, added, “We are delighted to have the opportunity to develop a new series, based off an already established, globally successful IP. In collaborating with the creative minds at BlackBox Multimedia, we are eager to discover the reimagined version of the novels come to life on screens around the world.”
Where the Boys Are actor Jim Hutton played Queen in NBC’s edition of the series in the 1970s. The role has also been portrayed on television by George Nader, Hugh Marlowe, and Lee Bowman, and in film by William Gargan and Ralph Bellamy.
“When our fathers first sat down to begin the collaboration that would become Ellery Queen, they never would have dreamed that they would then embark on a forty-year journey together or imagined the remarkable success that Ellery Queen would attain,” said Richard Dannay and Rand B. Lee, who represent the Ellery Queen estate.
“All of us in the Lee and Dannay families are thrilled to be working with BBMM and Incendo, which have both been so respectful and admiring of the rich Ellery Queen tradition, in crafting a new chapter on the screen for our shared legacy.”
Ellery Queen, TBA
Conversation11 Comments
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O
Stop the madness! Capitalizing on the name recognition to push the current political insanity is pathetic. No doubt the new "Ellery" will also be black and gay. The hardest pass possible on this and all future retooling of iconic characters.
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G
How long before we get a new Murder She Wrote starring Caitlin Jenner? Or how about Miss Marple starring Ru Paul? The lunatics are running the asylum!
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O
Be honest, you wouldn’t watch RuPaul as Miss Marple? I think it would be fascinating, if the writers were any good.
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G
I’m so tired of reboots and retreads. No one has a creative idea coming down the pike. When they do the reboot of course it has to be P C. While I understand wanting to be inclusive, it doesn’t mean you have to change everything to black, gay, Asian to be fair. Why not a little of everything instead of all or nothing ?
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R
This is what we get when the powers that be are totally lacking in original ideas. Just pick out a familiar title and use it to drawn in eyeballs hoping to finally see something worth watching; it seldom is. One notable exception was the Ocean's Eleven remake, but that had enormous star power. This Ellery Queen thing sounds awful.
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G
Good grief... another sellout.... when will it ever stop?
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B
Egad! Newton Minnow's vast wasteland is expanding!
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O
If they have to reboot everything, how about Mel Brooks' When Things Were Rotten?
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R
Loved that show. That reboot I'd watch if the casting was right and true to the ethnic population of the period.
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G
Slightly off point, but a reboot of The Snoop Sisters starring Ru Paul and another drag queen and played for laughs would be hilarious.
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P
The problem isn't Ru Paul, the problem is uninspired writers and caving in to political pressure.
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