'Flashdance' TV Reboot Is Dancing For Its Life At Paramount+

CBS All Access is working up a routine to perfect its transition into Paramount+. The streamer, which will be rebranded as Paramount+ next year, is rebooting the beloved 1983 feature Flashdance, which launched star Jennifer Beals to fame, as a TV series. Tracy McMillan (Amazon's Good Girls Revolt) will pen the script for the drama, which is currently in development.

Paramount+ is getting ready to dance for its life, with a TV reboot of Flashdance, the '80s classic which starred Beals as a steel mill worker and erotic dancer who dreamed of becoming a professional dancer. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the reboot will be penned by McMillan and executive produced by Angela Robinson (Professor Marston and the Wonder Women), who will direct the pilot.

The Flashdance TV reboot will be a new take that will "revolve around a young Black woman with ballet dreams and a strip club reality who struggles to find her place in the world while navigating romance, money, art, friendship and how to love herself."

Apart from a more diverse lead role, it doesn't sound much different from the original 1983 film, which followed an aspiring dancer as she attempted to break free from her working-class roots  — though honestly, audiences probably remember little about the plot of the film, which was really just a showcase for Beals and Irene Cara's iconic song "Flashdance...What a Feeling." The 1983 film, which was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson, was a critical dud but a box office hit, grossing more than $200 million globally and becoming the third highest-earner in the U.S. that year. It's no wonder that Paramount+ wants to dip into its library and recycle some fondly remembered IP — especially now that it will soon be proudly flaunting its connection to Paramount Pictures in the streaming platform title.

Flashdance is just the latest in-house IP to be rebooted for the ViacomCBS streaming platform. A Grease prequel is also in the works, as are a a revival of Mara Brock Akil's The Game and a scripted behind-the-scenes take on The Godfather, while new Twilight Zone and Star Trek shows are currently airing.

Paramount Television Studio is developing the Flashdance TV reboot, under Robinson's overall deal with the TV studio. Robinson is probably best known for directing Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, but she's also worked with Beals before Showtime's original The L Word, as well as directed episodes of True Blood, Hung, and How to Get Away With Murder.