'Castle' Creator, Michael De Luca Updating Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe for ABC

CAA; Getty Images

Terri Edda Miller and Andrew Marlowe with Michael De Luca

Castle creator Andrew Marlowe is bringing Raymond Chandler's famed detective Philip Marlowe back to life.

The showrunner behind the Nathan Fillion starrer is teaming with Castle writer/consulting producer Terri Edda Miller and prolific producer Michael De Luca (The Social Network) for an untitled Philip Marlowe drama set up at ABC with a script commitment.

The drama is described as a smart, sexy and stylish update of Chandler's timeless character. It follows the investigations of the wisecracking, edgy and rugged private detective, Philip Marlowe, as he navigates the morally complicated world of today's Los Angeles, where the California sun casts long and dangerous shadows, and where true love can be more difficult to find that justice.

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Married duo Marlowe and Miller will pen the script and executive produce via their MilMar Pictures banner for ABC Studios and Michael De Luca Productions.

Chandler's Philip Marlowe first appeared in Chandler's 1939 work The Big Sleep and went on to appear in subsequent pulp magazines, short stories and radio programs on CBS, and later NBC. The character previously appeared on TV in Philip Marlowe, Private Eye, a British mystery drama that aired on ITV in the U.K. and stateside on HBO in the 1980s. The series starring Powers Boothe was the first drama produced for HBO. ABC previously took on the character from 1959-60 with a half-hour crime series starring Philip Carey as Marlowe. The series was canceled after one season of 26 episodes. The BBC revived the radio series in 2011 with a series of Chandler's works.

Actors who have played the famed detective include Van Heflin (NBC Radio), Robert Montgomery (CBS Radio), Dick Powell (CBS Radio), Gerald Mohr (CBS Radio), Ed Bishop (BBC Radio), Danny Glover (Showtime) and James Caan (HBO's Poodle Springs movie).

For De Luca, the Philip Marlowe drama marks his latest high-profile small-screen project. The two-time Oscar winner (Social Network, Moneyball) also serves as an exec producer on Frank Darabont's upcoming TNT drama, Mob City, which debuts in December. He's prepping a remake of Shogun, a limited series for Fox, as well as a Sutton adaptation for FX with Alexander Payne; Syfy's Childhood's End; and Columbine at Lifetime, among other works.

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De Luca is repped by CAA and Gang Tyre. Marlowe is with CAA, Management 360 and Lichter Grossman. Miller is repped by CAA, Field Entertainment and Lichter Grossman. The Raymond Chandler estate is repped by CAA, the Ed Victor Agency in London and Greenberg Taurig.

In its sixth season, Castle remains a valuable property for ABC on Mondays. Its fifth season ranked as ABC's most-watched scripted drama among total viewers, averaging more than 12 million over 28 telecasts. 

The Philip Marlowe drama also comes as NBC rebooted Ironside, a remake of the Raymond Burr detective drama, which ran for eight seasons and nearly 200 episodes from 1967-75. The Blair Underwood-fronted drama has not fared well this fall in its Wednesdays at 10 p.m. slot, averaging a 1.2 in the key adults 18-49 demographic.

At the same time, CBS is remaking The Cisco Kid and Love, American Style, as well as NBC's new take on Remington Steele this development season.

E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit

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