EXCLUSIVE: That limited series we first told you about based on Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella from Skydance Television, Concord Originals and Jennifer Lopez‘s Nuyorican has landed at Disney+, we hear. The project remains in development.
We understand there was a bidding war between Disney and Amazon for the project, which is from the perspective of the fairy godparents. It is written by Rachel Shukert, who is still attached as EP and showrunner.
The UTA-repped Shukert is an EP on Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers, as well as an EP on the streamer’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and the showrunner of Netflix’s The Baby-Sitters Club.
In addition to Shukert, executive producers include Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina for Nuyorican Productions; Sophia Dilley, EVP of Concord Originals and co-president of RKO; former Concord CEO Scott Pascucci; and Bill Bost.
Skydance Television has a pact with Concord to develop a slate of original projects mined from the latter’s vast catalog of musicals that includes Cinderella and a modern-day adaptation of Oklahoma! from John Lee Hancock and Bekah Brunstetter.
Cinderella is one of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s most popular titles. It was originally written for television, debuting in 1957 with Julie Andrews in the lead. The TV movie was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance. More than 100 million viewers saw the broadcast. Cinderella was re-made for TV in 1965 starring Lesley Ann Warren in the title role with Ginger Rogers and Walter Pidgeon as the King and Queen, and Celeste Holm as the Fairy Godmother. Another television remake followed in 1997 with Brandy as Cinderella, Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother, Bernadette Peters as the Stepmother, Whoopi Goldberg as the Queen and Jason Alexander as Lionel.