CBS All Access Greenlights ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ TV Series

The Man Who Fell to Earth, David Bowie’s cult 1976 sci-fi film, is getting the TV series treatment at CBS All Access. The news comes after the network streaming service’s EVP for Original Content, Julie McNamara, announced at TCA (via Deadline). Star Trek: Discovery executive producer Alex Kurtzman has been tapped to direct the series, with Jenny Lumet co-writing the script. Kurtzman and Lumet will be the show’s showrunners, alongside John Hlavin.

The original 1976 movie (and Walter Tevis’ 1963 novel) follows Thomas Jerome Newton (Bowie), an alien posing as a human to save his dying planet. The TV version, however, will be getting a remixed version from Kurtzman and Lumet. Bowie’s original character won’t be featured, instead, a new alien protagonist inspired by the greatest innovators of the 21st century like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos. Deadline reports that The Man Who Fell to Earth “will center on an alien who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution and must confront his own past to determine our future.” Kurtzman describes the character as “truly unique and strange,” with Lumetz adding, “he introduces technology that evolves us and has to be dealing with the consequences of that. What a better way of looking at human behavior.”

In a statement, Kurtzman and Lumet said, “Walter Tevis’ visionary novel gave us a Tech God Willy Wonka from another planet, brought to life by David Bowie’s legendary performance, that foretold Steve Jobs’ and Elon Musk’s impact on our world. The series will imagine the next step in our evolution, seen through the eyes of an alien who must learn what it means to become human, even as he fights for the survival of his species.”

Cast members are yet to be announced, but the show aims to have its sci-fi tropes dialed down and have a more grounded take on the story with emotion and connection as its pillars. Nicolas Roeg’s The Man Who Fell to Earth is also known for its stunning visuals, but Kurtzman doesn’t want to “mimic his work in any way.” Kurtzman added that the original film’s director had his own vision for the movie, and he also wants the same for the new TV adaptation. “He saw this story through his own prism. He captured that incredible sense of loneliness of a small character in a larger landscape, the alienation the character felt,” Kurtzman said. “He captured that feeling, and I want to find a way to capture a feeling, not necessarily in the way he did.”

The Man Who Fell to Earth has no set release date yet, as they are assembling a writers pool this September.