NBC is turning ‘The Great Gatsby’ into a police procedural with a gender-swapped twist
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ is being adapted for television again, but in this version, Jay Gatsby will be involved in police investigations instead of extravagant parties. NBC is working on a contemporary crime procedural based on the 1925 novel, with one main character reimagined as a different gender. The project also involves two writers who have backgrounds in crime dramas. Titled ‘Gatsby’, the series will center around Detective Jay Gatsby and New York State Police Detective Nicole “Nicky” Carraway, according to Deadline. The project is being written by Jake Coburn and Jason Tracey, also executive producers. It will be produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studios Group.
The most significant change is made to Nick Carraway, the narrator of Fitzgerald’s classic. Rather than the male bond salesman who serves as the tour guide to Gatsby’s world, we will meet Nicole “Nicky” Carraway, a decorated NY State Police detective. While destined for law enforcement, Nicky also longs to be a writer. Still, the character will preserve a link to the original Nick, whose observations and account of Gatsby’s life serve as the basis of the book. Jay Gatsby, however, is still a male character. The series’ premise depicts him as a charming investigator who has a con man’s capacity for knowing what makes a person tick. Having Nicky and Gatsby team up would provide the adaptation with two investigators who have contrasting skill sets and career objectives. The plot would bring the characters into a modern-day law enforcement setting.
Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ was published in 1925. The story is set in Long Island in the summer of 1922 and narrated by Nick Carraway, a recent graduate who rents a house next door to the luxurious and mysterious Gatsby. In this way, Nick is able to watch the strange love-hate relationship of Gatsby, Daisy, and her husband, Tom Buchanan. The novel is also about wealth, class, and chasing the American Dream. Meanwhile, the new project has an established procedural writer behind it. Coburn was co-showrunner and executive producer on NBC’s ‘The Hunting Party,’ which is about investigators hunting down high-risk criminals who have escaped from a hidden prison. He has also been involved in ‘Quantico,’ ‘The Endgame,’ and ‘Gossip Girl.’
Tracey also has a track record of translating characters and concepts from other mediums into crime television. He was the creator and executive producer of ‘CSI: Vegas’ and the executive producer on all seven seasons of CBS’ ‘Elementary,’ which reinterpreted Sherlock Holmes for a modern-day audience while also using a gender swapped Joan Watson, portrayed by Lucy Liu, for the character. However, ‘Gatsby’ is still in development. There have been no announcements regarding cast members, a pilot order, production schedule, or premiere date. Fitzgerald’s original novel was published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1925 and is still considered one of the most widely studied works of American fiction.
