Remember that Robert De Niro/Matt Damon movie about the birth of the CIA? Well, the 2006 spy film The Good Shepherd appears to be Showtime-bound now as De Niro’s production company has sold a television adaptation of the film to the premium network. Furthermore, the legendary actor is set to executive produce and direct. The feature film’s director Eric Roth is on board as well as he is set to executive produce in addition to writing the series.
Essentially, the television version will follow the family of a CIA operative and use characters from the film, so clearly the Cold War-era backdrop is still intact. Word is that the material is being drawn on from a potential sequel effort that never worked out.
The Good Shepherd only made about $100 million at the box office on a budget of $85 million despite it’s stellar ensemble which explains why a second effort was not in the cards. Deadline reports that the decision is “an opportunity to delve deeper into the characters in a serialized format that has been embraced on cable.” Of course, Showtime will see it as simply a way to spin-off the love for its hit drama Homeland which also revolves around the CIA.