Based on the classic 1987 psychological thriller starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas, Paramount+’s new limited series Fatal Attraction will feature Lizzy Caplan (Fleishman Is in Trouble) in the role of Alex Forrest, an unstable woman who becomes dangerously obsessed after an affair with a married man, Dan Gallagher, played by Joshua Jackson (Dawson’s Creek).
The show’s creators and actors are looking to bring more detail to the original story, which they say took a too black-and-white view of events.
“If you watch the movie again, I find it very, very difficult to see Alex as a straight villain,” Caplan says. “You have to ask, ‘Well, what’s going on with her?’ And also, ‘What about consequences for him?’”
To answer those questions, the series delves deeper into Alex’s perspective and the potential mental illness driving her actions. The show also follows two timelines: the tragic events we saw in the film and how Dan’s failings have affected him and his family 15 years later.
“He has not really come to terms with [himself],” Jackson says, “and he causes immense damage to the people around him.”
Fatal Attraction, Series Premiere, Sunday, April 30, Paramount+
