'The Offer,' A Scripted Drama About The Making Of 'The Godfather,' Is One Of The New Originals Coming To The Rebranded Paramount+
It's gonna be a hell of a sell for ViacomCBS to convince people to subscribe to their newly rebranded Paramount+ (formerly CBS All Access). But with its newly announced slate of original titles, Paramount+ may have an offer we can't refuse.
ViacomCBS announced that five new originals will be arriving to Paramount+ when it rebrands in early 2021, including The Offer, a scripted drama about the making of The Godfather from the perspective of film producer Al Ruddy. Ruddy serves as executive producer on the limited series, which will be written by Michael Tolkin (Escape From Dannemora), who also serves as executive producer.
The Offer is an intriguing new original title that could give the ridiculously named Paramount+ (stop with the plus signs, streaming platforms!) the attention it needs. The Godfather is one of the all-time cinematic classics, and any project digging into Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece would be worth a watch. Coppola's Italian mafia films have been in the headlines lately, with the director set to release a re-edit of his divisive The Godfather Part III this December.
The 10-episode limited series would likely cover how Ruddy convinced Marlon Brando to take on what would become a career-defining role, Hollywood's skepticism about making a gangster movie into a big success, and the film production's clashes with the Italian-American community, which was against the story's violent depictions of Italian Americans. And with Ruddy — who won an Oscar for producing The Godfather and has spoken at length about bringing the project to life — on board, The Offer certainly becomes a new series that is hard to refuse.
Joining The Offer on Paramount+ are four other original titles, including Lioness, a spy drama from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan that "follows a young Marine recruited to befriend the daughter of a terrorist to bring the organization down from within." There's also a reboot of the classic VH1 docuseries Behind the Music titled MTV's Behind the Music — The Top 40 that "will unlock MTV's vault from the past 40 years for a unique and intimate look at the 40 biggest artists of all time, through their voices and their eyes." The last two are The Real Criminal Minds, a true-crime series based on the long-running CBS drama, and a revival of the hit BET drama The Game which was reportedly in the works at The CW last year.
More original titles will be announced in the months to come.