“Fatal Attraction” showrunner Alexandra Cunningham says it was at a table read on Zoom when she knew that Joshua Jackson and Lizzy Caplan had the chemistry to make her reimagining of the 1987 movie work.
“The entire cast was there and it’s everyone in their little windows,” Cunningham told me at the premiere of the Paramount+ series Monday night in West Hollywood at the Pacific Design Center. “As soon as Josh and Lizzy started talking to each other, there was chemistry. When you have chemistry on Zoom, you’re going to have chemistry when you meet in real life.”
She continued, “Immediately it was like, ‘These people are really flirting. These people are really living this moment.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, my god, it’s gonna be okay.’”
In the eight-part series, Jackson stars as Dan Gallagher with Caplan as Alex Forrest, roles played by Michael Douglas and Glenn Close in the original film. The team behind the series insists it’s not a remake of the movie, but rather an expanded adaptation that provides more insight into Alex’s behavior.
Jackson said he and Caplan had met in passing at Showtime events when he was starring in “The Affair” and she in “Masters of Sex.” But as soon as they were both signed onto “Fatal Attraction,” they began texting. “We have a 700-page text chain that started months before we ever got into it,” Jackson said before joking, “We should publish it but I do want to work again so maybe we shouldn’t.”
Cunningham also revealed that she was in touch with Close via email. They were introduced by a hairstylist who works with Close and on the show. “She said, ‘If there’s anything you want to know about how the sausage was made, let me know,’” Cunningham recalled. “I emailed her back and said, ‘You’re so kind but I actually want you to be able to maintain a certain distance from us and have plausible deniability about what we’re doing because you’ve said for a long time that somebody should redo it from Alex’s point of view, and to explore all of these things. But maybe you won’t like the way we did it. You’re so wonderful as a person that if we bring you into our group, you’re not going to want to betray us by saying you didn’t like it if you didn’t like it.’”
While it’s too early to know if a second season will get the go-ahead, Jackson said, “The intention of the story is that it can end at one and also that there is another place for the story to go. I trust [Cunningham] that she has a second idea in her head. But look at the ‘Succession’ guys. They were like, ‘We’re done’ after four seasons. They didn’t just milk the cow for as long as they could. Let’s end it while it’s still vital and the best it can be. I would want the same for ‘Fatal Attraction.’ Once the story is finished, you’ve got to let it go.’”
“Fatal Attraction” premieres on Paramount+ on April 30.
