By One of the most important pieces of literature in all of human history, Dante Alighieri’s Inferno is getting a TV adaptation from Freeform Productions. The company announced the news today and confirmed that this latest iteration will be a “contemporary reimagining” of the epic poem set in present-day Los Angeles (how on the nose).
The plot is described as following “Grace Dante, who thought her life sucked. Between parenting her drug addict mother and her troubled brother, our 20-something hero has had to give up all her dreams.” Soon after, her fortune turns around and she learns that Satan, himself, is behind her string of good luck. To regain control of her life, Grace will need to travel through Dante’s Inferno and come out alive. This sounds incredibly stupid, but I digress.
Dante’s Inferno is coming to us courtesy of Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris, Nina Fiore, John Herrera, Danielle Claman Gelber, and Studio 71. The script will be written by Reiff and Voris with contributions from Fiore and Herrera. All four will executive produce along with Gelber and Studio 71. I’m sure somewhere in there is patting themselves on the back like they’ve landed upon a certified hit.
I’m all for creative reinterpretations of classic literature, but this just sounds lousy. You couldn’t be more blatant than setting a hellish allegory in Los Angeles, not to mention the focus of the story seems to completely miss the point of Dante’s Divine Comedy. I’ll reserve full judgment for when the series is out in the public, but this is sounding as bizarre as that video game from a decade ago.
‘Dante’s Inferno‘ Reimagening Drama Series In Works At Freeform [Deadline]
