The renowned stage adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 is moving to television in a limited series. Independent studio Wiip has optioned the rights to the Broadway adaptation by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan. The visceral stage show will be adapted into a five-part limited series executive produced by David Flynn.
The stage adaptation of 1984 made waves for not pulling any punches with many of the graphic scenes from the novel. The 2013 play caused audience members to faint, vomit, and even get in arguments with the characters on the stage. Icke and Macmillan released a statement on their thoughts on how their adaptation will translate to the small screen:
“As the world grapples with democracy and government in our divided age of surveillance, ‘fake news’ and truth decay, the urgency of Orwell’s masterpiece is undeniable. The small screen feels like a natural home for his portrait of a society in which people trust their screens more than the world outside their windows.”
This isn’t going to be the first time 1984 will be adapted on screen. 1984 saw a film adaptation in, you guessed it, 1984 starring John Hurt. Peter Cushing also starred in a television adaptation in 1954. Writer James Graham, who has adapted stage plays like Quiz and has written episodes of Netflix’s The Crown, attempted to tackle a film adaptation of the novel but tabled the daunting project. In comments to Deadline he stated “it’s a difficult project” and that “the book is just so bloody perfect, we started going: ‘Let’s just pause for a second.’ The world of surveillance and tech moves on so quickly, we just needed to have a broader view of it.”
Wiip, is a fairly new production studio headed by former ABC Network President Paul Lee. It has released projects like Dickinson on Apple TV+ and Queen America on Facebook Watch. Wiip also has projects in development with HBO and HBO Max.
