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Posted in: TV | Tagged: lovejoy
Lovejoy Novels Getting New Series Adapt from "Slow Horses" Producers
The adventures of art detective Lovejoy are being developed into a new series by See-Saw, the production company behind Slow Horses.
Article Summary
- See-Saw, producers of Slow Horses, are developing a new TV series based on the Lovejoy novels.
- The original Lovejoy series starred Ian McShane and was a BBC hit from the late 1980s to 1990s.
- The new adaptation promises a grittier, more faithful take on Jonathan Gash’s 24-book series.
- Set in East Anglia, Lovejoy follows a roguish antiques dealer with a talent for exposing art scams.
See-Saw, the production company behind Slow Horses, is developing a new TV series about the rogueish antiques dealer Lovejoy. See-Saw won the rights after a bidding war and landed the rights to adapt the Lovejoy detective novels for TV, which were made into a hit BBC series in the late 1980s and early 1990s, starring Ian McShane and making him a household name in the UK (and PBS viewers in the US).
Lovejoy was a mainstay on British television in the 1980s and 1990s. Adapted by the late, great journeyman TV writer Ian La Frenais, the BBC series ran for eight years, totalling 70 episodes, and made McShane a star. There is no word yet on whether McShane will return for the remake, which hasn't landed a network or streamer yet. The show also starred Chris Jury, Dudley Sutton, Phyllis Logan and Celia Imrie.
Set in East Anglia, Lovejoy is about a charismatic, roguish antiques dealer with an almost mystical knack for spotting genuine artefacts and scams. He frequently pivots from dealer to detective, outmanoeuvring rivals, criminals and occasionally the police. Lovejoy enjoyed a series of cozy "art caper of the week" plots with his found family, who either go along with him or tut-tut at his antics.
The Lovejoy novels were published under the nom de plume Jonathan Gash and span 24 books by Dr John Grant. They were published between 1977 and 2008, featuring titles such as The Judas Pair, The Grail Tree, and, most recently, Faces in the Pool.
See-Saw wants to create a "contemporary reimagining of the Lovejoy novels that will strip away the nostalgia of the 1980s adaptation and return to the unrulier spirit of the books."
Jonathan Gash/John Grant's agent, Lisa Moylett, shared, "Jonathan Gash created an extraordinarily vivid and complex Lovejoy. A morally ambiguous, often unpleasant anti-hero brought to life through taut prose and page-turning stories steeped in the shadowy world of antiques. It was essential that any new adaptation kept the books front and centre. See-Saw's bold, assured vision, led by Lisa Gilchrist and Helen Gregory, demonstrated exactly how to preserve the books' wit and grit while reimagining them for today's audience."
Get set for an updated version of Lovejoy that's a little grittier and more morally grey, as it always was. Hopefully, this might bring the books back into print.
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