Charles Dickens' classic novel "Oliver Twist" will be adapted as a TV show by NBC, but it will have a little twist. Instead of focusing on a poor young boy in the 19th century, the network will center on a struggling 20-something female in a modern day setting as she brings down wealthy criminals.The character is said to join a crew of skilled outcasts who will help her in her adventures.
The network announced on Friday that a script commitment has been made for the adaptation. Joel Silver and Lionsgate Television will be part of the development team, while the script will be written by Chad Damiana and J.P. Lavin. The writing duo also penned the script for the upcoming movie adaptation of the "Fruit Ninja" game. Silver, Damiana, Lavin and Silver Picture's president Rodney Ferrell will serve as executive producers of the upcoming project, Variety reported.
News of NBC's script commitment came a few days after Fox announced that they will do a police procedural adaptation for "King Arthur and Camelot," TV Line added.
However, it seems the announcement was not well-received, since the series will reportedly be a "sexy, contemporay" take of the beloved classic. According to Daily Mail, Rex Huppke of Chicago Tribune wrote on social media that the series "should satisfy members of the Oliver Twist Fan-Erotica community." Comedienne Sarah Haskins also commented that ''It's Oliver Twist! But the 'twist' is that it isn't! At all!"
Meanwhile, Silver's most recent projects include "The Nice Guys" with Russel Crowe and Ryan Gosling. He is also currently involved with "Suburbicon" as a producer, in which he teams up with George Clooney, who acts in and directs the film. The movie also stars Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Josh Brolin and Oscar Isaac.
"Oliver Twist" was first published in 1837 and is about an orphan boy who joined a gang of juvenile pickpockets. Prior to NBC's project, there have been a number of adaptations for the book. The 1968 "Oliver!" movie version is the most well-known for it won an Oscar for Best Picture.
