Exploring the Rise of Movies Transformed into TV Series

The Big Picture

BlackBerry, the 2023 release by IFC Films, is set to be transformed into a captivating three-episode limited series exclusively on AMC+. Additionally, the beloved Baz Luhrmann film, Australia, will undergo a remarkable transition as it graces the screens as a thrilling Hulu series, proudly renamed Faraway Downs.

Streaming services have revolutionized the concept of turning movies into limited-run TV shows by eliminating time constraints. This trend, which isn't entirely new, has gained momentum due to factors like Hollywood labor strikes. Streamers are now exploring innovative ways to generate new programming in light of postponed projects.

IFC Films recently made a surprising announcement that the highly entertaining 2023 release, BlackBerry, will be transformed from a two-hour movie into a three-episode limited series premiering on AMC and AMC+. As of now, there is no indication that this three-part project, which starts airing on November 13, will contain any additional or removed content compared to the original theatrical version of BlackBerry. Essentially, it is just the movie split into three separate parts for streaming on AMC+. This decision raises questions about whether other titles from IFC Films, which shares a parent company with AMC and AMC+, will undergo similar transformations. Could Boyhood become a well-regarded four-part limited series? Can Super be transformed into a three-episode, half-hour TV show? Perhaps the individual segments of Kelly Reichardt's Certain Women will be divided into multiple TV episodes. The possibilities seem endless.

In addition to this, the 2008 film Australia, starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, is being adapted into a Hulu TV show called Faraway Downs. This six-part limited series is essentially just an elongated version of the movie, spread out across six episodes. Unlike the limited series approach taken with BlackBerry, Faraway Downs will incorporate unused footage from the original film. Nevertheless, it remains essentially a rehashing of an old movie in a new form. It seems that Hollywood is somewhat infatuated with the practice of breaking up old films into limited series for television... but why? What is driving this trend in the entertainment industry that makes streaming executives believe that a high-quality film like BlackBerry would be enhanced by being spread out across three episodes?

The Larger Historical and Business Context For This New Trend

Image via IFC Films

Surprisingly, the practice of adapting movies into limited-run TV shows is not entirely new. Examples such as Das Boot and The Godfather miniseries serve as precedent for the concept of breaking down movies into segments for television. However, these projects were developed in a different era of popular culture. In the past, there were limited time slots available for airing major movies during primetime. Films like Das Boot, which were already long and would be further extended with commercial breaks, often faced difficulties fitting into these time constraints. Therefore, splitting them into multiple nights of programming and including exclusive footage made sense from a scheduling perspective and offered viewers something new.

Fast forward to 2023, and these time constraints are no longer relevant. The advent of streaming has eliminated the notion of specific showtimes for small-screen content. So why are we now witnessing a trend of multiple movies being transformed into limited-run TV shows? Firstly, it should be noted that both Australia and BlackBerry did not achieve significant success at the box office during their theatrical releases. This is particularly true for Australia, which became notorious for its poor performance in 2008. As a result, studios and production companies believe that these titles are relatively unfamiliar to the general public. This allows them to repackage these stories as seemingly "brand-new" TV shows without facing backlash from passionate fans of the original movies, like Australia, wondering why the classic film is being tarnished on Hulu.

Plus, an artistically slammed country like Australia can present an opportunity for reinterpretation by the individuals involved in the feature. The director of Australia, Baz Luhrmann, has expressed his enthusiasm for delivering a more expansive vision of the 2008 movie, which is undoubtedly influenced by his involvement in long-form streaming storytelling on the Netflix series The Get Down. In certain specific situations, transforming a film into a streaming show is not just a means for a streaming platform to capitalize on valuable intellectual property; it also provides directors with a chance to rectify past mistakes. With the increased space and time available, they can now create productions that align with their original creative visions.

The Strikes Are Bound to Make These Kinds of Projects More Common

Image via 20th Century Studios

However, what stands out the most is the abundance of labor strikes throughout Hollywood in 2023, which has played a significant role in the recent surge of transforming movies into television shows. The refusal of major studios to adequately compensate their actors and writers has led to prolonged strikes, consequently postponing a multitude of potential TV programs slated for 2023 and 2024. Rather than offering fair wages to artists in the present, these companies have chosen to harm their own future programming opportunities. Consequently, streaming platforms now find themselves in the predicament of inventing unconventional methods to produce "fresh" projects amidst their barren programming schedules.

For streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon, this isn't much of a concern due to their extensive library of projects. However, smaller streaming platforms like Hulu and AMC+ face the challenge of limited new original programming. To tackle this issue, these streamers are now exploring movies from their affiliated companies as a fresh source of content. If AMC+ lacks a major original show in November, it can easily transform BlackBerry into a three-night program. This approach allows streamers to offer limited-run shows featuring well-known actors like Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, and Glenn Howerton. Currently, BlackBerry and Faraway Downs are unusual outliers in the TV industry, but if the AMPTP continues to disregard artist requests, the scarcity of new small-screen content will persist.

If this happens, smaller streamers like Paramount+ may inevitably see these November 2023 limited-run streaming programs as a model to follow. It's uncertain whether audiences will show interest in rebranded movies as finite series, but various trends in the broader pop culture landscape suggest that these productions won't be seen as exceptions in the grand scheme of history.