An Excellent Jake Gyllenhaal Movie Is Being Turned Into A Series
A fantastic Jake Gyllenhaal series is now being turned into a television series. Based on the movie, this thing could really work.
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One of Jake Gyllenhaal’s most underrated indie performances is getting the recognition it deserves by way of a new TV series that Fox is experimenting with based on the 2012 movie End of Watch. According to Variety, Fox has ordered a one-hour drama hailing from the original mind behind the movie, David Ayer, who is best known for writing impressive gems like Fury, Suicide Squad, Harsh Times Sabotage, The Tax Collector, Training Day, U-571, The Fast and the Furious and SWAT.
The show will follow another two Los Angeles Police Department officers as they go through their daily grind. However, like their big-screen counterparts, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña, their friendship will be tested when they encounter criminal forces that are bigger than anything they were ever trained for. Ayer will co-write the show alongside Them showrunner David Mathews.
Deadline reports that this is a new venture from Fox Entertainment, which is testing out a new development model this pilot season that was originally developed in 2020. Rather than the traditional pilot order method, Fox Entertainment is giving its potential new dramas a script-to-series order. The adaptation of the Jake Gyllenhaal-led End of Watch is a version of that model, being given a pilot script order as well as a backup script and format. Once all of that is in the can, the network will reportedly make the decision on whether or not it wants to move forward with a full End of Watch series.
Originally debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival, End of Watch stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as two close friends and partners in the Los Angeles Police Department. The film starts out as a kind of portrait of their lifestyle as they respond to calls, meet women, get married, have kids, and do less-than-legal things like challenging a perp to a fistfight while on the job.
However, their propensity to be go-getters at their job lands them in the crosshairs of some pretty volatile gang members. They quickly learn that they’ll need every ounce of their friendship if they’re going to survive all the trouble that the job throws their way. The movie showcased Jake Gyllenhaal’s and Michael Peña’s range as actors, the film was a massive box office success, earning more than $55 million on an estimated budget of just $7 million.
In addition to the End of Watch series, Fox is reportedly giving similar treatment to an adaptation of the Oscar-nominated film Hell or High Water. Currently, the project is in its very early stages of development. As a result, there’s no word yet on who will take on the Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña counterpart roles. However, whoever is lucky enough to land the part will have big shoes to fill. Speaking to The Guardian, both actors explained that they didn’t get along at first, but bonded over the real-life police ride-along that they had to do in order to research their parts. Jake Gyllenhaal even noted that working on this movie changed his life after he saw a real-life criminal gunned down right in front of him on one of those ride-alongs that went south in a big hurry.
