Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan and Nick Carraway return for the most tragic and legendary love story in American literature. Barely have our memories of Baz Luhrmann’s glittery, spectacle film adaptation of the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel faded, yet excitingly a new TV mini-series is in the works - helmed by the creator of Vikings and The Tudors, Michael Hirst.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's magnum opus, The Great Gatsby, is the ultimate depiction of the 'American Dream', the aspirational concept that is fundamental to the identity of the United States. The current American zeitgeist provides the perfect opportunity to look at a timeless classic with new eyes. It's never been more relevant than now that the latest adaptation of the beloved novel is being reimagined through the modern prism of gender and race. Following in the highly successful footsteps of popular period series Bridgerton and theatre spectacle Hamilton, the new Great Gatsby series is trying to do things differently.
While the focus of Fitzgerald’s novel was Jay and Daisy’s hopeless love story amidst an era of sumptuous parties, urbanization and a clothing revolution, what was ignored completely was the turmoil of American society. Foregrounding the elements of the era, which are largely omitted in the novel, the new TV series will focus on New York’s Black community and their central importance to the 1920’s Jazz subculture.
To ensure accuracy in bringing this to life Farah Jasmine Griffin, who is currently Columbia University's William B. Ransford professor of English and comparative literature and African-American studies will be working with Hirst on the series. As it turns out this refreshing new approach to the classic even has the family seal of approval. Blake Hazard who is the great-granddaughter of F. Scott Fitzgerald has signed on as a producer and consultant on the show, stating “I have long dreamed of a more diverse and inclusive version of Gatsby that better reflects the America we live in, one that could allow all of us to see each other in Scott's wildly romantic text.”.
But one burning question remains on all our lips. Who will succeed Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan as Gatsby and Daisy? What we do know is that ITV has already picked up the series so its just a matter of wait and watch old sport.
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