The team behind Apple TV’s thriller Slow Horses is set to revive a much-loved detective series more than 30 years since its finale aired.
Lovejoy, based on the novels of the same name, became a huge hit for the BBC in the late 1980s.
The initial six-series run saw Ian McShane play the titular Lovejoy, a rogueish antiques dealer from East Anglia with a keen eye for spotting fakes.
See-Saw Films has now won a bidding war to produce a brand new adaptation and told Deadline it wants to create a “contemporary reimagining of the Lovejoy novels that will strip away the nostalgia of the 1980s adaptation and return to the unrulier spirit of the books.”
The Independent has contacted See-Saw for further comment.
Writing under the pen name Jonathan Gash, Dr Jonathan Grant penned an impressive 24 Lovejoy books, many of which were released long after the sixth season of the BBC’s adaptation aired in 1994.
The author’s agent, Lisa Moylett, told Deadline: “Jonathan Gash created an extraordinarily vivid and complex Lovejoy. A morally ambiguous, often unpleasant anti-hero brought to life through taut prose and page-turning stories steeped in the shadowy world of antiques.
“It was essential that any new adaptation kept the books front and centre. See-Saw’s bold, assured vision, led by Lisa Gilchrist and Helen Gregory, demonstrated exactly how to preserve the books’ wit and grit while reimagining them for today’s audience.”
The project is not currently attached to a broadcaster or streaming service, and there’s no word yet on who will be taking on the lead role.
The Gary Oldman-led Slow Horses has been a huge hit for See-Saw Films and Apple TV, with the Harry Potter actor earning Emmy, Golden Globe and TV Bafta nominations for his star turn as Slough House leader Jackson Lamb.
Jack Lowden - who plays River Cartwright, a rising MI5 star who finds himself dumped in Lamb’s department after a blunder during a training mission - has also landed award nominations, while the series won the Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series accolade at the 2024 Emmys.
See-Saw Film’s other hits include Netflix teen drama Heartstopper, Apple TV’s adaptation of Sarah Perry’s novel The Essex Serpent and the 2011 Oscar winner The King’s Speech.
