Ryan Murphy Is "Cuckoo" for Netflix
Friday, September 8, 2017 at 12:00AM Chris here. In what is surely one of the most side-eye worthy prequel adaptations to come along in an era full of them, Ryan Murphy is creating an original story for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest villain Nurse Ratched. The series will be Murphy's first for Netflix (surprising it's taken this long, right?) and run for 18 episodes over two seasons. The title? You guessed it: Ratched.
On the plus side, the series will be another collaboration between Murphy and main muse Sarah Paulson. If the project seems wholy unasked for or in ill-fitted hands, we can rest assured that Paulson can deliver nothing less than a worthy portrayal of a legendary character. Maybe Nurse Ratched won't turn out to have been so evil after all - at least before Murphy got his hands on her. And if long running series are as daunting for you as they sometimes are for me, the promise of only an 18 episode run is glorious indeed. The series begins filming next year with Murphy set to direct the pilot.
Can Murphy and Paulson do justice to Louise Fletcher's Oscar winning performance?
Reader Comments (17)
ONLY 18 episodes? Ryan Murphy needs to be stopped!
No
Feud couldn't sustain its eight episode run.
Nothing is sacred anymore. New Norman Bates, new Mildred Ratched. Don't they know such iconic characters can't be replaced or bested ? Anything to get more $.
NO...Left original untouched or untainted...Did they really run out idea ?
I'm almost afraid that Murphy will steer the Ratched character towards the American Horror Style-type psychotic nutcase...
Why? Why?
So it's not a miniseries, but there's no plan for future seasons? How odd.
This could've been a great chance to use Mo Collins. The resemble is uncanny.
Ryan Murphy. What is it about this guy that bugs me so much. There's just something so self-satisfied and smarmy about his High Concept ideas. I'll pass on this one.
I guess I'm the only one excited about this one. Sure, Ryan Murphy is very hit or miss but the performances are usually noteworthy and I have 100% faith in Sarah Paulson.
Dg: I at least GET why Bates Motel was made. Even in the original Psycho, Norman was framed as someone who was tragically f***ed up. A backstory series on why is...kind of redundant, but understandable. Nurse Ratched, by contrast? That's kind of like wanting to do a detailed back story series on Other Mother from Coraline or Michael Myers (And I know Rob Zombie did that. It was lame.) from Halloween. Why?
TOM: I've never really watched American Horror Story, but I'd guess that means we're talking the "yes, we have taken our Profion" kind of psychosis.
I’m more interested to know about why Louise Fletcher’s career went nowhere rather than knowing why Nurse Ratched was evil.. She was evil probably because she had a job where she had to work for difficult people, possibly most Saturday nights, in her 40’s and was most definitely underpaid. There you go.
What?!
Ryan Murphy , definitely a hit or miss ( Feud was dreadful, Glee just unbearable, on the other hand when he hits he hits you hard , Nip Tuck , Running with Scissors, American Crime Story, The Normal Heart ), he's uneven , but Paulson is not, so maybe something good can happen here.
By the way, ( and you guys can say whatever you may) although I think ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST is great , the Oscar should've gone to DOG DAY AFTERNOON and AL PACINO, and how Fletcher won over the marvelous ISABELLE ADJANI ( The Story of Adele H.) is just beyond me; Fletcher is fine , but not memorable, any other actress could've done that , Adjani in Adele is a whole other level of magnitude.
uhhh yeah 18 episodes is still a lot. safe money placed on them doing a halloween themed episode!
Jessica Lange will probably be cast as Ratched's cuckoo, deranged, evil, psychotic mother who tormented her daughter into a 'Sybil'-like schizo....