HBO is Turning Film 'Parasite' into a Limited TV Series
One of the biggest and most acclaimed films of 2019 getting the TV treatment: The South Korean drama "Parasite" will be turned into an HBO limited series from its director Bong Joon-ho and "The Big Short" filmmaker Adam McKay, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
THR writes that "deals are not done," but the news comes after a number of networks, including Netflix, went into a bidding war for the project.
"Parasite," which won the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and is an Oscar frontrunner for Best Picture, earned $24 million in North America and $130 million worldwide. The film follows a poor family as they secretly integrate themselves into the employ of a rich family. THR notes it is unclear if the limited series will be a sequel of sorts to the film, an English-language remake or something else.
Both Bong and McKay would adapt "Parasite," which just picked up a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, for HBO and serve as executive producers. McKay, who also directed the Dick Chaney biopic "Vice," has directed for HBO's drama series "Succession."
This isn't the first Bong film to be turned into a TV show. His English-language debut film "Snowpiercer" (2013), starring Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton, is coming to HBO's sister network TNT, but the South Korean auteur is not attached to that project. A premiere date has not been announced for the series, which has been in the works for more than four years.