Will NBC's 'Rosemary's Baby' Be Different?

As a fan of Roman Polanski's 1968 version of Ira Levin's horror novel, it's easy to be intrigued by NBC's mini-series remake of Rosemary's Baby . Starring Zoe Saldana as Rosemary and Patrick J. Adams as her husband Guy, the mini-series will be divided into two separate parts: One scheduled (quite eerily) for Mother's Day on May 11 from 9 PM to 11 PM, and one scheduled for Thursday, May 15 at the same time. While the mini-series will certainly be different in format and nearly two hours longer than the original film, fans of the 1968 film version are wondering just what else will be different in NBC's version. Will it still feel like the Rosemary's Baby that reaffirmed our fear of strangers?

There have been some noted key differences from the original film, and while I find the original film fantastic as is, these changes to the story do make some sense. According to the director of the series, Agniezka Holland, the series will be set in Paris, rather than New York City, where the 1968 version and original novel set the story. It seems like an odd choice (wouldn't it be easier for the American cast to set the story in New York?) but at the end of the day, it makes some sense: by having Rosemary and her husband, Guy, living abroad, it furthers the feeling of isolation that Rosemary feels when her pregnancy takes a horrifying turn.

One other change from the original? According to Holland, this version will be much "bloodier" than the original movie. The original film didn't feature much gore (it was psychological horror at its best), but given that this is from the network that brought us the TV version of Hannibal (easily the most gory show on network TV) it's not surprising that NBC is ready to pack in all the gross punches they can get on Rosemary's Baby.

Despite these differences, there is something that we're thrilled to see stay in the TV version: Rosemary's haircut. Just like Mia Farrow did in the original, Saldana will also be working with a super-short 'do. (Okay, so Saldana is sporting a wig, but still, the reference remains.)

Mia Farrow in the original...

... and Zoe Saldana in the new version!

Image: NBC