Ryan Murphy could very well be the busiest man in television and now he’s adding more to his slate. Ratched, a prequel series from executive producer Ryan Murphy revolving around the character of Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, has landed at Netflix with a two-season, 18-episode order.
The project, with Emmy winner Sarah Paulson set to take on the role of Nurse Ratched, landed at Netflix following a competitive bidding process with Apple and Hulu also among the potential suitors.
The series hails from Fox 21 Television Studios (where Murphy is under a rich overall deal) and counts Michael Douglas — who produced the original 1975 film adaptation — as an executive producer. Production will begin in the middle of 2018 with Murphy directing the pilot. Newcomer Evan Romansky penned the spec script, which was given to Murphy via his agent at CAA. Murphy spent a year securing rights to the character and the estate of original producer Saul Zaentz.
The origin story begins in 1947 and follows Ratched’s journey and evolution from nurse to monster. The show will follow her deadly progression through the mental health care system.
Ratched will mark Murphy’s first series for a streaming outlet. The show comes as Murphy recently launched FX anthology American Horror Story: Cult and next has American Crime Story: Versace as well as Feud and Pose for the cable network. On the broadcast side, he is readying procedural 911 for Fox for midseason.
