Urban Cowboy , the classic film starringJohn TravoltaandDebra Winger, will become a series for Paramount.
The project was developed by James Ponsoldt (The Circle, Sorry for Your Loss) andBenjamin Percy, screenwriter of Ponsoldt’s latest film, Summering , which premiered at this year’s Sundance. The two will write together, Ponsoldt will direct. The series will be produced by Paramount Television Studios.
The plot
Urban Cowboy , the original film, was directed by James Bridges and centered on the love / hate relationship between Buford “Bud” Davis (Travolta) and Sissy (Winger). He recently moved to Houston to work at the petrochemical plant where his uncle works. She is an exuberant and independent woman. The two met one night in the club they both frequent, Gilley’s, a honky tonk in Pasadena, Texas, where in time Bud becomes the champion to ride the mechanical bull. The two will marry, but Sissy’s independence and Bud’s traditionalism will generate more than a few sparks. The series will delve more into Bud’s journey from the countryside to the big city in 1980’s Houston, and will include songs from that era.
This is not the first project inspired by the film: Fox had previously tried to make a series focused on the world of Latin music, developed by Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow). There is a pilot of it, which airs as a TV movie.
Paramount + and the series based on films
Urban Cowboy joins a series of projects inspired by famous films that Paramount + has put in place. Among these, Fatal Attraction , The Italian Job , Love Story , Flashdance and The Parallax View .