'Urban Cowboy' TV Show in the Works

Paramount+ announced several new projects on Tuesday, including a television show based on the 1980 John Travolta hit Urban Cowboy. James Ponsoldt, the director of The Spectacular Now and The Circle, will direct and co-write the scenes with Benjamin Percy. The streamer also announced plans to turn another hit Paramount Pictures property, Flashdance, into a series.

Urban Cowboy starred Travolta as Buford "Bud" Davis, who moves from Spur, Texas to Houston to take an oil refinery job. Once he arrives in the big city, Bud embraces the local nightlife and meets Sissy Davis, played by Debra Winger, at the honky tonk Gilley's Club. The series plans to go "deeper" into Bud's travels from a farm to 1980s Houston, notes Deadline. Music from the era will be heavily featured in the series. The TV series will be written and directed by Ponsoldt, who is co-writing with Percy. They recently worked on the Sundance film Summering.

The original film was directed by James Bridges, who co-write the script with Aaron Latham. The plot was inspired by an Esquire article Latham wrote about a romance between two regulars at Gilley's. It was a decent hit at the time, grossing $53.3 million on a $10 million budget. Unfortunately, Urban Cowboy is not available to stream on Paramount+ and you will need a Starz subscription to watch it on Amazon Prime Video or Hulu.

This isn't the first time Urban Cowboy has inspired a TV project. Back in 2015, Fox ordered an Urban Cowboy pilot that starred Alfonso Herrera and Nathalie Kelly. Craig Brewer (Dolemite Is My Name) directed the pilot. After it was completed, re-writing was ordered to add extra material. However, Fox ultimately passed on this version.

Also on Tuesday, Paramount+ announced plans to develop a series based on Flashdance, the hit 1983 movie starring Jennifer Beals as a dancer who dreamed of becoming a ballerina. Justin Simien (Dear White People) is set to adapt and direct the series. It has been in development since October 2020, when Paramount+ was still CBS All Access.

Paramount+ is also developing television shows inspired by the Paramount movies Fatal Attraction, The Italian Job, Love Story, and The Parallax View, as well as the Grease prequel, Rise of the Pink Ladies. The streamer also renewed Mayor of Kingstown, The Game and SEAL Team for new seasons. The streamer also released a trailer for The Offer, a limited series about the making of The Godfather that hits the service on April 28, during the Television Critics Association press tour on Tuesday.