It was the traditional tale of one man’s renaissance via the magic of schoolchildren, given a sharp twist by director Richard Linklater and star/mugger-par-excellence Jack Black. Now Linklater hopes the story will party on over thirteen episodes as SCHOOL OF ROCK becomes the latest big screen property to transfer to TV. The new version is to be co-produced by kid-friendly Nickelodeon and Paramount and will feature a new cast and creative team.
Central character Dewey Finn was one of Black’s standout roles and it’s hard to think of who might inherit his shorts. The replacement is soon to be announced, but Rainn Wilson would surely be a shoo-in. However the presence of writers Jim and Steve Armogida (who laboured on one of the UK’s most insipid long-running sitcoms My Family) indicate that spontaneity and invention may not be high on the list of priorities.
Scott Rudin (INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS) will exec-produce with Linklater and the show will commence production around Christmas. Paramount is currently in the process of mining its cinematic back catalogue for series ideas and the proposed small screen reboots of GHOST (endless pottery sequences?), TERMINATOR (with a fresh batch of movies being shot?) and THE TRUMAN SHOW (Westworld surely has this concept covered?) not boding well for compelling week-by-week narratives. I can’t see School Of Rock cranking the laughter factor up to eleven, especially in a family-orientated format. But with solid talent in the decision-making chairs this could develop into a worthy successor.
(Not. Yes I know that’s from the wrong movie.)
Source: THR
