Fans of One Flew Over the Cuckoo‘s Nest will be getting a brand-new series from a fan-favorite character’s point-of-view.
Per Entertainment Weekly, Paul Zaentz, the nephew of original One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest producer Saul Zaentz, has acquired the rights to the story and is set on bringing it to the small screen, this time from the POV of Will Sampson’s Chief Bromden. «I just signed an agreement with [original author] Ken Kesey’s widow [Faye Kesey] and family to develop a television series, where we will do it through the point of view of Chief for the first season.» Zaentz added, «After the first season will be what happens to Chief after he escapes [from the hospital].»
Zaentz went on to note that his intentions aren’t to remake any classic scenes from the film for the purpose of simply rehashing them for a new audience. «Over the last 50 years, there have been hundreds of calls from studios, directors, and producers who want to remake the movie, and we would never allow it to be remade if they were just going to do it as [original director] Miloš [Forman] made it,» Zaentz explained. «It would be a dishonor.»
Based on Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel of the same name, 1975’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was directed by Forman from a screenplay by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman. The film starred Jack Nicholson as Randle Patrick «R.P.» McMurphy, a man incarcerated for statutory rape who feigns mental illness in the hopes of avoiding prison labor. When McMurphy is moved to a mental hospital, he finds himself lorded over by the cold, passive-aggressive, and objectively cruel Nurse Ratched. As the film unfolds, McMurphy finds himself in a constant battle with Nurse Ratched which, tragically, ultimately results in what is effectively the end of his life, all while Will Sampson’s «Chief» Bromden follows through on his and McMurphy’s promise to escape.
The Legacy of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest — Explained
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was lauded by critics upon its release, and has been hailed as one of the greatest films of its era since. During its original theatrical run, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest raked in more than $163 million against a budget of less than $4.4 million. Beyond its financial success, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was an awards-season hit, garnering Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor for Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, and Brad Dourif, not to mention a whole host of other award nominations and wins. In 2020, Netflix released a prequel series, Ratched, starring Sarah Paulson as a young Mildred Ratched at the outset of her career.
