Freeform is looking to get into the period drama business, with the network announcing that it is developing a Cleopatra series from Michael Seitzman, executive producer on Quantico and Code Black, as well as Christina Davis and Lorenzo di Bonaventura.
The project is described as “an epic, female-centric adventure series following the life of the most beloved ruler in Egyptian history. After being exiled as a young woman, Cleopatra decides to stand up against the patriarchy and fight back for her freedom and rightful place as heir. This tale will follow her rise and transition to becoming not only the first, last and only female pharaoh, but also the world’s most powerful person — all while engaging in a classic love triangle that changed the map of the world forever.”
“Our show is an adventure story that centers on a young Cleopatra during the period of her life when she was exiled by her own brother and forced to be a scrappy outsider forging shaky alliances and acquiring powerful enemies, including the gods and monsters of Egyptian mythology vying for supremacy over the human race,” Seitzman tells Deadline. “It’s also a love story about a young woman caught between two men, the fierce General Julius Caesar and his protege, the young, rebellious Centurion Marc Antony.”
The series was originally sold to NBC with a put pilot commitment back in 2012, but has since been redeveloped. A writers room is currently working on scripts, while the search is underway for a casting director and line producer.
Cleopatra has been brought to the screen on several occasions, most notably in 1963, where she was portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor. A new movie is in development at Sony – which is described as “a lean, mean political thriller” filled with sex, swearing and assassinations – while Amazon also announced last year that it had picked up a TV series pitch from the Black Sails team of Jonathan E. Steinberg, Robert Levine and Dan Sholtz.
Originally published January 21, 2018. Updated April 16, 2018.
