Deadline is reporting that USA has given a straight-to-series order to an adaptation of Brave New World that was previously in development at Syfy.
Based on the seminal sci-fi novel from Aldous Huxley, with David Weiner (Homecoming), Grant Morrison (Happy!), and Brian Taylor (Crank) adapting to series, Brave New World takes place in a seemingly utopian society where monogamy, privacy, money, family, and history itself have been prohibited by the government. The series follows Bernard Marx and Lenina Crowe as they seek to explore life beyond the rigid social structures that dominate their life through a vacation to the Savage Lands. Once there, they become involved in a violent rebellion that forces John the Savage to rescue them and return them to the New World. Only when they return, John’s arrival brings about repercussions that will awaken them to the dangers of their conditioning.
The move to USA is the latest bit of corporate synergy that we’ve seen in the television industry recently, with USA sharing The Purge with Syfy, Viacom moving several shows across platforms (RuPaul’s Drag Race, Hit the Floor, etc.), and Hulu ordering a four-series Marvel animated universe in anticipation of the Disney merger going through. Brave New World likely made it to USA due to the network’s higher budgets and stronger audience reach.
Brave New World is one of several new series greenlit by USA in the wake of Suits and Mr. Robot being renewed for a final season, as well as the cancellations of Falling Water, Damnation, and Colony and FOX acquiring WWE Smackdown. It joins Suits spinoff Pearson, starring Gina Torres; Treadstone, a Tim Kring drama based on the Bourne film series; crime drama Briarpatch, starring Rosario Dawson; and Dare Me, a cheerleading drama based on the novel of the same name.
