The hit 1987 movie Fatal Attraction, starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas, gave rise to the phrase ‘bunny boiler’ as it saw obsessed Alex Forrest stew her lover’s family pet, and it left legions of men fearing their pasts would come back to haunt them. But a new eight-parter series on Paramount Plus takes a different look at the classic story, delving into Alex’s psyche and examining her past rather than painting her as the villain.
The series stars Lizzy Caplan as Alex Forrest while Joshua Jackson plays Dan Gallagher, the man with whom she has a steamy affair. Amanda Peet will play Beth, Dan’s wife (played by Anne Archer in the movie), who inadvertently gets caught in the love triangle.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Fatal Attraction series on Paramount Plus…
Fatal Attraction release date on Paramount Plus
Fatal Attraction the series premieres on Paramount Plus with two episodes released in the US and Canada on Sunday, April 30, 2023. The remaining six episodes will be available weekly on Sundays.
In the UK and the rest of the world, you can watch the first two episodes on Monday, May 1 2023 with the rest released weekly on Mondays.
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Is there a trailer for Fatal Attraction on Paramount Plus?
Yes Paramount Plus has now released a full trailer for Fatal Attraction and before that a teaser trailer so we can compare Lizzy Caplan and Jashua Jackson to Michael Douglas and Glenn Close for the first time. Take a look below for the teaser trailer and below that the 1987 movie trailer as a reminder of what a brilliant film it truly was...
Fatal Attraction series on Paramount Plus plot
In contrast to the original Fatal Attraction movie, which focused on Dan’s point of view after he became the centre of a woman’s obsession after a brief affair, this Paramount Plus series takes a deep dive into Alex’s life, shining a different and more modern light on the tale of marriage and infidelity. It promises to focus on ‘strong woman, personality disorders and coercive control’.
Showrunner Alexander Cunningham says: “I wanted us to go in a slightly different direction. This reimagining of Fatal Attraction shared a lot with the iconic original film, but it also is about entitlement, midlife crisis, and how some of the sausage gets made in our broken justice system, personality disorders, isolation, father and daughters and murder. It's about how some people just can't take a win. It's about self-image and what we'll do to protect it. And also what happens when someone doesn't have one. And if we've done our job, I think that your sympathies will shift more than once."
Read out Fatal Attraction episode 1 review right here.
Fatal Attraction series cast — Lizzy Caplan on playing Alex Forrest
Lizzy Caplan stars as Alex Forrest, a woman who refuses to be ignored after an affair with a married man. "I see her as a very sympathetic character — obviously she does some highly unsympathetic things, she’s clearly very unwell, but I don’t think it’s my job as an actress to pass any sort of judgement on her, Lizzy told us. "I’m just supposed to figure out how to make her decisions make sense to her. I think she is a very lonely, very troubled woman. Her path could have gone differently, had somebody helped her with some of her issues.
"I have the utmost respect for the film, and for the performance that Glenn Close delivered in the role, so of course one thinks, ‘should I even attempt to do this?’ But it felt like the film was more of a jumping-off point for the story that we wanted to tell, and I also think it’s one of the few examples of a beloved piece of property that could use further exploration. When you get to do eight episodes of something, you can really explore the characters in a deeper way, so that felt appealing. Of course it was a daunting task - but why not do something scary?
"I rewatched the original film a couple of times over the course of filming, and before I signed on - it’s a very enjoyable watch, so that was great! I don’t remember the last time I saw it before that. I was five when it came out, so I definitely didn’t see it in the theatre! They made so many iconic erotic thrillers in that period of time, I think a lot of people get them jumbled up - I know I’ve seen bits and pieces of Basic Instinct and Unfaithful, so it was nice to remind myself. Fatal Attraction has always been my favourite one!"
* Lizzy Caplan played Libby in the series Fleishman Is In Trouble and Reagan in Inside Job. She’s also starred in Truth Be Told, Castle Rock, Das Boot, Extinction, Mean Girls and Masters of Sex.
Joshua Jackson as Dan Gallagher
Joshua Jackson plays cheating husband Dan Gallagher (see in pictured above). He first won our hearts as Pacey in Dawson’s Creek, which ran from 1998 to 2003. He’s since been in The Affair, Fringe, Dr Death, Little Fires Everywhere, Cruel Intentions and When They See Us.
Amanda Peet as Beth Gallagher
Amanda Peet plays wronged wife Beth Gallagher, whose life unravels after her husband has an affair. She’s been in the series The Romanoffs, The Good Wife, Dirty Jon and Togetherness. She’s also starred in Brockmire, Identity Thief, Bent and Gulliver’s Travels.
Who else is starring in Fatal Attraction on Paramount Plus?
Fatal Attraction also stars Burt Bulos (Days of our Lives) as Phil Packer, Vanessa Martinez (Dirty John) as Jeannette Ruiz, Gary Perez (13 Reasons Why) as Rolando Cabral and Tiago Roberts (The Rookie) as Gabriel Iballa, Mcihael Bishop is Clay Bishop, Jesse Mackey is Scanlon, while Anthony L. Fernandez and Michelle Twarowska round out the cast.
Behind the scenes and more about Fatal Attraction the TV series
Alexandra Cunningham (Dirty John, Chance) serves as writer, showrunner and executive producer on the Fatal Attraction series alongside executive producer Kevin J. Hynes (Perry Mason), with whom Cunningham shares co-story credit, and executive producers Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey for Amblin Television. Silver Tree also serves as executive producer and directed five episodes.
