'St. Elmo's Fire': NBC Kindles The Sparks For A TV Remake
NBC is turning on the lights and opening up the bar again for a St. Elmo's Fire TV series remake. The 1985 coming-of-age classic, which cemented stars Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy,and Mare Winningham as core members of the '80s "Brat Pack," is being developed into a modern-day remake by NBC, which has tapped Josh Berman (Drop Dead Diva) to pen the script and executive produce.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed that NBC is developing a St. Elmo's Fire TV series, based on the Joel Schumacher-directed film that chronicled the trials and tribulations of a group of close friends after their graduation from Georgetown University. NBC is adapting the story to modern day, which won't be too much of an issue, as the original film dealt with fairly timeless themes of adjusting to adulthood, struggling with career choices, and unrequited love. Coming at this time, it will probably center around a group of millennials (or maybe even Zennials) fresh out of college, whose career and coming-of-age struggles definitely match up with that of the Brat Pack in St. Elmo's Fire. Whether NBC can cast a group of actors that have as much chemistry and charisma as the Brat Pack is another story.Drop Dead Diva and The Mob Doctor writer Josh Berman is on board to pen the script and executive produce via his Osprey Productions banner. Chris King is also set as executive producer. Sony Pictures Television, whose film arm Columbia Pictures distributed the original movie, is developing the series. This marks the second time that Sony has attempted to reboot the film, first attempting a contemporary take back in 2009 with Schumacher attached. The series landed at ABC after a bidding war, but not much came of it.
The original film has been hailed as an '80s coming-of-age classic and an essential entry in the "Brat Pack" catalogue, featuring the young adult heartthrobs of the decade who frequently starred in teen movies together. Anthony Michael Hall and Molly Ringwald were also core members, having starred in The Breakfast Club, the other seminal Brat Pack film of 1985 with Estevez, Nelson, and Sheedy.
Of the Brat Pack movies, St. Elmo's Fire's success can mostly be attributed to the star power of its cast, who made a fairly standard story about heartbreak, adulthood, and adultery work. (Editor's note: don't forget about John Parr's absolute banger of a theme song!) I fear that the story may even be too broad for a TV series, which could just end up as a typical "group of friends" series, but St. Elmo's Fire has enough of a nostalgic pull that NBC could be looking at their next hit.