American Psycho television series in the works

According to a new Deadline exclusive, Lionsgate TV is currently exploring the possibility of an American Psycho television series. During a recent interview with the publication, Lionsgate Television chairman Kevin Beggs said the company was considering creating an American Psycho series.

In his own words, they’ve just finished up on Dear White People, Blindspotting is airing soon and “‘American Psycho’ is in development.” Beyond that, Beggs also said that the company is “always exploring what we can do in television with something like the ‘Saw’ franchise, so that’s a conversation.”

So not only could we eventually see Patrick Bateman on the small screen but it sounds like the broadcast company is also hopeful that Saw might one day be turned into a television show as well. Considering how many films that franchise has, it wouldn’t surprise me if their next course of action was to take Jigsaw and his deadly games to TV land.

Reporter Nellie Andreeva said Beggs wouldn’t elaborate further on the news about Saw, but she’s heard rumblings of a potential adaptation of the book of Saw from Mark Burg and Oren Koules’ Twisted Television. As one of the longest-running horror franchise and most lucrative, it would make sense from a financial perspective.

What would an American Psycho horror series be about?

It should be stated that for now, we have only the barest scraps of information to work with since all Beggs did was mention that a series was in development. I’m assuming they would be working from Brett Easton Ellis’ novel rather than rebooting the film.

We’ve seen horror-movies-turned-television-shows work in the past, Bates Motel comes to mind right away. Then there’s the Chucky television show in the works from Syfy, too.

The original book and film focused on the character of Patrick Bateman who enjoys regularly torturing and killing women. He’s considered an unreliable narrator, so the book makes it somewhat unclear whether Patrick is really acting on his psychopathic impulses or just imagining them in detailed fantasy.

I’m just wondering how a television show about a man who loves brutalizing women would be received in this landscape. Is that really a story that needs to be told, again? The only way I could see it working is if they fundamentally altered components of the story or toned down some elements, in which case, what would be the point? I’ll need more information before I decide if this is what the horror world needs next!

Would you like to see an American Psycho or Saw television show in the future? Why or why not? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!