Nearly 40 years after The Exorcist convinced millions that all a psychopathic child needs is a priest, the property is making a leap to TV.
Sean Durkin, the writer-director of last year’s critical favorite Martha Marcy May Marlene, is adapting The Exorcist into a TV series. The series, paid for by Morgan Creek and produced by Roy Lee, will follow a family thrown into turmoil when one of its members is possessed by a demon. Of course, the eponymous religious professional will eventually be brought in to battle the demon once Ritalin and psychology have failed. The original film, released in 1973 and directed by William Friedkin, was nominated for Best Picture and is widely considered a classic. An array of sequels have failed to inspire similar affection from critics and audiences.
The series will be competing with producer Don Murphy’s own show, The Exorcist Handbook. Durkin’s version is set to be shopped around to networks soon, hopefully to ones that won’t have to sanitize the vast majority of the content for primetime viewing audiences.
Source: Vulture