Another “Frankenstein” adaptation is on the way. CBS has a modern interpretation of Mary Shelley’s 19th century novel in the works, and Uta Briesewitz has signed on to direct its pilot. Deadline confirmed the news.
Reimagined as a cop procedural, this version of “Frankenstein” tells the story of a “San Francisco homicide detective who’s mysteriously brought back to life after being killed in the line of duty. But as he resumes his old life and he and his wife realize he isn’t the same person he used to be, they zero in on the strange man behind his resurrection – Dr. Victor Frankenstein,” the source summarizes.
In addition to directing, Briesewitz will exec produce. She launched her career as a cinematographer with credits such as “True Blood” and “Hung.” After earning her first directing credit on the latter series, Briesewitz has gone on to helm episodes of about two dozen other series including “Stranger Things,” “The Deuce,” “This Is Us,” “Orange Is the New Black,” “Jane the Virgin,” and “UnREAL.”
When asked about being on the all-female directing team for Season 2 of “Jessica Jones,” Briesewitz said, “Women have been excluded for decades from all kinds of shows. The moment you have a car exploding or a car chase, any kind of action, the attitude would be right away: We should hire a man ’cause they do it better. So how can it be a fault to say: Listen, this is about a female superhero, maybe just a couple of women should tell the story?” she asked. “So if anybody takes offense by just one show that decides just to hire women for once, to make a statement, or to see it as an experiment, or just to show that there are so many female directors out there and that they are great — nobody should feel threatened or offended by that.”
