Crash to Return as TV Show in 2008

28-Jan-2008
Written by: Matt Nathanson

Academy Award winning film "Crash" to return as TV show in 2008 on Starz.

The 2005 Oscar winner for Best Picture – director Paul Haggis’s Crash – is returning later this year as a TV series, helmed by Haggis and “possibly” starring the film’s star, Don Cheadle.

The film-spinoff will be seen on the Starz network. Starz has initially ordered thirteen one-hour episodes, which may begin airing as early as August 2008.

The plot of Crash, released by Lionsgate in 2005, extrapolated on the theme of racial and ethnic tensions in urban America. Its multiple strands of storyline were woven together expertly through the film, and the stories converged in several twists and ironic endings.

The original cast, which included Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Thandie Newton, and Ryan Philippe, are all being asked to return, at least for the intial episodes. Cheadle, who had a large part in bringing this cast together initially, is expected to help in recruiting the show’s players.

Starz, a pay cable channel launched in 1994, is the sister network of Encore, another pay station. Though initially conceived as a network strictly dedicated to feature-length films, Starz has branched out into TV serials. Last week they launched their first original programming, two half-hour comedies, Head Case and Hollywood Residential.

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