Get Shorty

Variety is reporting that premium cable network Epix has picked up a TV show based on Elmore Leonard’s novel Get Shorty. The book—which was adapted to the screen in 1995 by Barry Sonnenfeld, forming a key stepping stone in John Travolta’s post-Pulp Fiction career resurrection—centers on a Florida loan shark determined to make it big as a Hollywood producer. The series is being developed for TV by Davey Holmes, whose past credits include Shameless and HBO’s In Treatment.


The original Get Shorty pulled off some sly satire by bringing Leonard’s basic contention—that there’s not much difference in the skill sets needed to be a successful loan shark or a successful film producer—to the silver screen itself. (The sequel, meanwhile, reminded us all that not even The Rock can make everything cool.) Hopefully, the Epix series will be able to expand the satire into its new medium, possibly by spending an episode mulling on the cynical ease with which beloved movies can be transformed into ready-made TV.