'Saw' And 'American Psycho' TV Series In The Works From Lionsgate

Lionsgate TV is dipping into their film library with the hopes of creating some new series. Both Saw and American Psycho TV shows are in the works, and while details are so slim they might as well be non-existent, horror fans will want to take note. Both of these titles actually have plenty of potential for the TV format – Saw can be turned into an ongoing series full of different traps and mysteries, while the American Psycho source material – Bret Easton Ellis's controversial novel – is episodic by nature.

Deadline has an interview with Lionsgate Television chairman Kevin Beggs in which Beggs lists multiple projects in the works, and two of those projects are TV adaptations of Saw and American Psycho. "We've just wrapped up Dear White People which was a really good experience, Blindspotting is coming up, American Psycho is in development," Beggs said. "We're always exploring what we can do in television with something like the Saw franchise, so that's a conversation."

There aren't any more details than that, but both of these titles could translate well to TV. Saw could unfold a season that's akin to one of the movies, with various people dealing with various traps, while American Psycho has lots of room for an episodic story. Bret Easton Ellis's novel is very episodic – it's essentially a series of short stories all featuring main character Patrick Bateman. There's been some talk over the years of a potential American Psycho reboot – with one such reboot idea updating the story to the present day, which seems very weird and kind of dumb since the story is so firmly rooted in the 1980s. Here's hoping the potential American Psycho series remains in the '80s.

As for Saw, there's a new Saw movie on the way – Spiral: From the Book of Saw, which opens on May 13, 2021. Lionsgate will likely wait and see how well that does before plowing ahead with the Saw TV series. The only other question I can think of right now is: where do these shows end up? Both Saw and American Psycho are inherently violent, so I'd imagine any TV show would have to end up on a pay cable channel or a streaming service.