Paramount+ announced its plan to reboot 1983's Flashdance into a television series, centered on a young Black woman who works in a strip club with dreams of becoming a ballerina.
Paramount Pictures distributed the original film which made it easier for Paramount Television Studios to greenlight the show. Producer Lynda Obst -- who was a producer on Flashdance -- signed on to executive produce the television series, as reported by THR.
Tracy McMillan will write the series' script, and Angela Robinson (True Blood) will serve as the showrunner and direct its pilot episode.
The original film revolved around the character Alex Owens (Jennifer Beals) who works by day in a steel mill as a welder, and by night as a dancer in a club. She dreams of one day becoming a ballerina and the story focuses on how that will or won't be a reality. Robinson's take will instead focus on a young Black woman who works in a strip club but wants to become a ballerina. The unnamed lead will "struggle to find her place in the world while navigating romance, money, art, friendship and how to love herself," as reported by THR.
At this time, there is no news as to who will be cast in the titular role, nor supporting roles.
Paramount Plus plans to launch in early 2021. Paramount Plus will integrate a number of different networks owned by ViacomCBS, including MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, The Smithsonian Channel and many more. The streaming platform also recently announced a Grease prequel series.
Source: THR