Editorial Staff
“Drive” and “Only God Forgives” director Nicolas Winding Refn is bringing cult ‘80’s flick “Maniac Cop” to the small screen.
The series will be the first production of Refn’s byNWR Originals, a part of his cultural site byNWR.com, and is created in partnership with HBO and Canal Plus, says Variety. HBO will air the series in North America while Canal Plus will carry it in France.
Refn will serve as showrunner and will direct the entire series with John Hyams(“Universal Soldier : Regeneration”).
L.A-set “Maniac Cop” is said to 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?.”
“I’ve always been a devoted admirer of John Hyams,” said Refn. “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 Plus. 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.”
William Lustig, who directed the three “Maniac Cop” films, will be an executive producer on the series.
