The Departed TV series is currently in development.
Did you know Martin Scorsese’s The Departed is based on the popular Chinese crime film called Internal Affairs. That movie was directed by Lau Wai-Keung and Alan Mak and starred Andy Lau and Tony Chiu. The movie would spawn two sequels, which were both praised for their dramatic crime and action storytelling.
So it begs the question, how come there hasn’t been a sequel to The Departed yet? Well, as it turns out there are plans to bring back the movie in the form of a TV show.
Recently, the movie’s producer Roy Lee revealed that originally there were plans on creating a sequel to The Departed. However, they would have to bring back certain characters who died in the original movie and Martin Scorsese didn’t want to do a sequel.
However, Lee hinted that there are plans to develop a TV series based on The Departed.
“The Departed as a concept is amazing. That’s what attracted me to the story, the two moles working on either side of the law, and translating that idea into other settings with new characters, like how Fargo has taken the feel of the Coen Brother’s film. We were having discussions about making infernal affairs a television series. A different city, so it’s not anything like The Departed, but essentially The Departed as a TV series.”
The Departed producer went on to say that the writers are now in talks on “whether it could be a network show or a cable series.”
“Now, you can develop six episodes and one that could be a franchise for years,” Lee went onto say, which is a very true view of how the current TV landscape looks.
But, without the all star cast, it may be difficult to replicate the success of The Departed. Keep in mind that the movie was a critical and commercial success and the film won several awards, including four Oscars at the 79th Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Scorsese), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing. Wahlberg was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
However, a TV show based on The Departed could do very well on a network like FX, which released a highly praised TV version of Fargo. This is one we’ll have to keep our eyes out for.
Source: Producer Roy Lee Teases ‘The Departed’ TV Series Set in a New City
