The First Wives Club is being rebooted as a TV series for Paramount Network. Girls Trip co-writer Tracy Oliver will write and executive produce the comedic story about three divorced friends who grow fed up with their ex-husbands and exact revenge.
Based on the 1996 comedy starring Bette Middler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton (which itself was adapted from Olivia Goldsmith’s novel), The First Wives Club TV reboot has garnered the attention of Paramount, which has ordered a 10-episode series scheduled to shoot in New York City. The plot follows three friends reconnected through tragedy who decide to exact revenge on the ex-husbands who wronged them. Though there is no official casting news yet, the series is expected to premiere sometime in 2019.
This news is branching off Paramount Network’s recent green light for a First Wives Club series pilot just last month, according to Deadline. The original script was ultimately scrapped and Oliver was brought in for a full rewrite, following the success of Girls Night. She will be executive producing alongside the Twilight Saga’s Karen Rosenfelt, and the original First Wives Club’s producer Scott Rudin. Paramount Network President Keith Cox expressed his enthusiasm about Oliver in an official statement, saying that she “is a brilliant writer and the perfect visionary to bring this unforgettable story from the big screen to the small screen in a fresh and contemporary way.” Paramount TV President Amy Powell shared his enthusiasm, stating that she’s certain Oliver will “will breathe new life, and some serious laughs, into these beloved First Wives Club characters.”
This reboot will serve as Paramount Network’s first time collaborating with their sister company Paramount Television, marking a significant change of tone from their most notable projects to date (see The Alienist, 13 Reasons Why, Shooter). What’s more, this won’t be the first time The First Wives Club has been adapted, outside of the 1996 film. In 2009, it was turned into a stage musical by lyricists Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland.
While the concept of reboots isn’t always met with open arms, The First Wives Club may be an exception. With the reboot eyeing a more inclusive cast of characters, a writer like Oliver shows promise in integrating more of a modern touch, compared to the original film’s evident lack of diversity. The point of a reboot is to improve on and modernize the original source material, and a writer like Oliver, who has a consistent track record of creating roles for minority characters, thus giving a more concrete purpose to the reboot, ought to inspire hope for the beloved comedy’s return to the screen.
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More on the First Wives Club TV series as its develops.
Source: Deadline
