FATAL ATTRACTION is a new Paramount+ miniseries with eight episodes. I’ll be very honest and say that I didn’t really understand the need for a remake. Or rather, a series version of this story. After the first two episodes, I still wasn’t too sure, but by the third episode, I was starting to get on board.
Mostly because this series also explores the time after the events shown in the 1987 movie directed by Adrian Lyne (Deep Water). I’m still not entirely hooked on the series, but I do like the cast, so I can imagine this will keep me coming back until the very end.
This new Paramount+ series is called both a “deep dive” and a “reimagining” of the movie from 1987. Both descriptions are really fair enough. Both because we dive more into the inner workings of Alexandra “Alex” Forrest (Lizzy Caplan in the series, Glenn Close in the movie), which the original movie lacked – and was criticized for – and we see the aftermath.
We’re talking aftermath many years later, in the present day. That’s when Daniel “Dan” Gallagher (Joshua Jackson in the series, Michael Douglas in the movie) is released on parole. This is after having served 15 years in prison for the murder of Alex. This part is definitely something new and very interesting to me.
However, so is the new take on the original core story, which takes place in 2008. This is when Dan first meets Alex while at work. The two have a brief affair – which really isn’t that brief or “fling”-like.
Following this, Alex becomes obsessed with keeping Dan in her life, which threatens the life he’s built with his wife Beth (Amanda Peet in the series, Anne Archer in the movie). Of course, one could argue – I certainly can – that his having an affair in the first place, is what threatens his life as he knows it.
In any case, the Fatal Attraction series does look at this well-known story with a new lens. One that looks at privilege, personality disorders, and family dynamics. All of this results in a murder, but even this part of the story is one kept from us for quite some time.
Allow me to start by saying that I really like the actors in the Fatal Attraction series. The cast is full of actors delivering strong performances and bringing their A-game.
However – and you probably knew some kind of “but” was coming – I am not a fan of the chemistry between Joshua Jackson and Lizzy Caplan. While I really like both actors and their character portrayals, I am not a fan of them together.
In fact, I think Joshua Jackson (Dr. Death) has much better chemistry with Amanda Peet (Dirty John). And yes, this is also a very good thing as they do portray husband and wife in the Fatal Attraction series. However, it does make it more difficult for me to wrap my head around the affair.
The story itself, does work for me, but the Jackson and Caplan together? Not so much.
For the record, though, I did very much enjoy the whole speech that ends in the infamous “I won’t be ignored, Dan”-line. Lizzy Caplan (Extinction, Castle Rock) absolutely nailed that scene for me!
I do want to also mention Alyssa Jirrels (This Is the Year) who plays Ellen Gallagher in the present. She is the adult daughter of Dan and Beth Gallagher and has spent her life dealing with the consequences of her father’s affair with Alex. Also, we get the always wonderful Toby Huss as Dan’s colleague (of sorts) as well as a friend in both the past and present
Watch the Fatal Attraction series on Paramount+
Alexandra Cunningham (creator of Dirty John) and Kevin J. Hynes (writer/producer on Perry Mason, Dirty John) are the creators of this new series version of the infamous story about the consequences of infidelity and mental illness. Or rather, I should say they “developed it” as James Dearden is the original creator and the screenplay writer of the 1987 movie.
Kevin J. Hynes, Alexandra Cunningham, and James Dearden are also all credited as “teleplay” writers on the series. They share this credit with the additional four writers; Luke Groneman, Tandace Khorrami, Stacy A. Littlejohn, and Katherine B. McKenna. Directors of the series are Silver Tree (You, Dead to Me) and Pete Chatmon (The Flight Attendant).
The new Paramount+ series will premiere with the first three episodes, which is a very good thing. At least for me, as it wasn’t until the third episode that I could see any point of this remake. Following this premiere, new episodes will be released on Sundays. The final two episodes will drop on May 28, 2023.
The Fatal Attraction series will premiere on Paramount+ on April 30, 2023.
