Subject: [NEWS] "Lovejoy" reboot in very early production (UK, amateur detective)


Playing the lead role in the original show is where Ian McShane got his
"big break".

Unfortunately, this (if it gets made at all) will be just yet another
in the massive list of "in name only" silly reboots that bare little resemblance to the original, just like "Van Der Valk", "Bergerac", etc.
:-(


'Slow Horses' Maker See-Saw Adapting 'Lovejoy' Novels For TV
30 Years After Popular BBC Series Starring Ian McShane
------------------------------------------------------------
The production outfit behind Slow Horses has made Jackson Lamb a
household name and now it is seeking to do the same for rogueish
antiques dealer Lovejoy.

Following a bidding war, See-Saw Films has landed the rights to
adapt the Lovejoy detective novels for TV, which were made into
a popular BBC series in the late 1980s and early 1990s starring
Ian McShane.

Lovejoy will be more than familiar to fans of British detective
television. Adapted by Ian La Frenais, the BBC show ran for eight
years, totaling 70 episodes, and made a star of McShane, who
played the eponymous lead. No word yet on whether McShane is
returning for the remake, which isn't yet attached to a network
or streamer. The show also starred Chris Jury, Dudley Sutton,
Phyllis Logan and Celia Imrie. Blue Sky acquired rights in 2019
but that adaptation didn't get made.

Set in East Anglia, Lovejoy is about a charismatic antiques
dealer with an almost mystical knack for spotting genuine
artefacts and scams. He frequently pivots from dealer to
detective, outmanoeuvring rivals, criminals and occasionally the
police. He has more than a thing or two in common with Slow
Horses lead Lamb, played with aplomb by Gary Oldman across five
seasons for Apple TV.

Published under the nom de plume Jonathan Gash, Lovejoy is a set
of 24 books from Dr John Grant. They published between 1977 and
2008, featuring titles including The Judas Pair, The Grail Tree
and, most recently, Faces in the Pool.

See-Saw wants to create a "contemporary reimagining of the
Lovejoy novels that will strip away the nostalgia of the 1980s
adaptation and return to the unrulier spirit of the books," it
said. The indie described the bidding war for the novels as
"competitive" and we understand it took place last year.

Grant's agent Lisa Moylett said: "Jonathan Gash created an
extraordinarily vivid and complex Lovejoy. A morally ambiguous,
often unpleasant anti-hero brought to life through taut prose
and page-turning stories steeped in the shadowy world of antiques.
It was essential that any new adaptation kept the books front and
centre. See-Saw's bold, assured vision, led by Lisa Gilchrist and
Helen Gregory, demonstrated exactly how to preserve the books'
wit and grit while reimagining them for today's audience."

EPs for Mediawan-owned See-Saw, which has TV credits including
Slow Horses, Heartstopper and Sweetpea, are Lisa Gilchrist, Helen
Gregory, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Simon Gillis. Joining
them will be Moylett and Grant.???

The deal was negotiated by Simon Gillis and Laura Mazzola, Head of
Business & Legal Affairs (UK), on behalf of See-Saw and Sheila
David of Catapult Rights Limited on behalf of Dr Grant.

<https://deadline.com/2026/03/lovejoy-tv-remake-see-saw-films-bbc-ian-mcshane-1236743392/>




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