The season of reboots and remakes continues as Showtime’s reimagining of the 1980s film, American Gigolo, announced new cast members. According to Deadline, Leland Orser (Taken 3, The Bone Collector) and Sandrine Holt (House of Cards, The Returned) have both joined the series created by David Hollander (The Guardian, Heartland).
Deadline reports Orser is set to play tech billionaire, Richard Stratton opposite leads Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead, The Punisher) and Gretchen Mol (Boardwalk Empire, Yellowstone). Stratton is described as a man whose insurmountable wealth has driven him to be a bit unhinged, estranging him from his wife Michelle, played by Mol. Holt has joined the series in a recurring role.
The show is a retake on the 1980s film starring Richard Gere (Unfaithful, Pretty Woman) and Lauren Hutton (Once Bitten, I Feel Pretty), according to Deadline. In the original film, Gere’s Julian Kaye is a suave sex worker who falls for a senator’s wife, played by Hutton. His affair and livelihood come to a crashing halt when he’s accused of murder. Showtime’s series will continue the story 18 years later with Bernthal in the lead role. The series will examine Kaye’s life post-prison, adapting to today’s sex industry. While trying to balance his professional life, he’ll work to uncover who framed him for murder and seek out his one true love, Michelle Stratton.
According to Deadline, Hollander will write, direct, and serve as executive producer along with Jerry Bruckheimer (Top Gun, Armageddon), Jonathan Littman (The Amazing Race, CSI: Crime Scene Investigators), and KristieAnne Reed (Lucifer, L.A.’s Finest). Bernthal will also produce. The series is a Paramount TV Studios production in collaboration with Jerry Bruckheimer Television.
Orser has several projects in the works. Deadline reports he will star in an upcoming Netflix series, Brand New Cherry Flavor with Catherine Keener (Get Out, Capote) and Rosa Salazar (Alita: Battle Angel, Undone) later this year. He is also filming Starz’s series adaptation of Blindspotting starring Jasmine Cephas Jones (#FreeRayshawn, Monsters and Men). Orser also will appear in the HBO Max anthology series, Verbatim.