TV Shows Based on Movies Is Hollywood's New Trend

Remember Limitless, the Lucy of 2011? If not, you're definitely going to very soon: According to new reports, CBS has decided to make a Limitless TV show based off of the film. Bradley Cooper, who starred in the movie, will executive produce the show, and it will apparently pick up where the movie left off — though Cooper will probably not play the lead in the show as he did in the film. (To refresh your memory, he starred as Eddie Mora, a writer who is given a drug that unleashes his full mental capacity, making him — you guessed it — limitless.)

This marks the second recent show that is set to be adapted from a movie, the other being Marley and Me . I think Limitless makes more sense as a show when you consider the subject matter, however, I wonder why networks have decided to simply adapt these movies into TV shows rather than create new — but related — concepts. It's clearly becoming Hollywood's newest trend if these shows are any indication, but why not have an original show with similar themes, and avoid the difficulties of continuity?

Both movies performed well, with Limitless earning $79 million in the US and Canada and Marley and Me earning a little over $143 million domestically. However, neither are exactly cult classics or huge blockbusters. I wonder if in the competitive world of TV pilots, the networks are hoping to boost their ratings based on audience recognition. Fans of either movie might tune in to the early episodes to check out something familiar, perhaps only to see how the adaptation works on the big screen.

However, it does seem a little sad for the creative industry to be reusing ideas that have already worked. I'm sure there are plenty of hungry young writers out there with original TV pilots, and I'd love to see them have a chance. But, considering the fact that Hollywood has a long history with canceling shows that should never have been sent to the chopping block (*coughcough* Veronica Mars *coughcough*) maybe this is just too idealistic a thought.

Image: Relativity Media