Netflix, home of some of the best original programming of 2015, has greenlit 10 episodes of psychological thriller Gypsy for their 2017 slate. Variety describes the plot as the story of therapist Jean Holloway, who crosses boundaries to form relationships with the people in her patient’s lives.
Writer Lisa Rubin landed the project at Universal, who has previously worked with Netflix on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Rubin is also currently adapting two novels for the screen: Jessica Tom’s Food Whore is a tongue-in-cheek piece set in New York’s elite restaurants, and I Was Here is a story of secrets between best friends.
Rubin will executive produce on Gypsy along with Liza Chasin, Eric Fellner, and Tim Bevan. Those last three were all producers on Love, Actually, and Fellner and Bevan worked together on 1996’s Fargo.
With the success Netflix has with original programming it’s easy to forget the venture is still pretty new for the company. Smash hit House of Cards only appeared in 2013, along with cultural phenomenon Orange is the New Black. Jessica Jones, Kimmy Schmidt and Narcos were all 2015 shows.
It’s interesting to remember Schmidt was originally heading for NBC before being handed over to Netflix; fans of Longmire and The Killing have also followed their shows over to the streaming service after being cancelled by networks. I have to wonder if networks regret those kinds of moves, but in an industry where broadcast and cable channels have to pull in significant ratings numbers, Netflix (and Hulu) partnerships are a great way to keep fans happy.
Overall their ability to spot future hits has been unusually high so we’ll see if they maintain their quality in 2016. This year, look for Marvel drama Luke Cage later this year, the Judd Apatow comedy Love in mid-February, and sequel series Fuller House in late February.