CBS is Developing a Crime Series Based on L.A. CONFIDENTIAL

CBS is developing a TV series based James Ellroy's classic crime novel L.A. Confidential. Most people are probably more familiar with the 1997 film adaptation directed by Curtis Hanson, which starred Kim Basinger, Russel Crowe, Kevin Spacey, James Cromwell, and Danny DeVito. I'm a fan of that movie, but the book is so much better! If you haven't read it, you need to check it out.

According to Variety, the series will follow "the paths of three homicide detectives, a female reporter, and a Hollywood actress as they intersect while the detectives pursue a sadistic serial killer through the seedy underbelly of 1950’s Los Angeles."

L.A. Confidential is one of four books in Ellroy's "L.A. Quartet" series. The crime fiction novels, which also consisted of The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, and White Jazz, are set in the late 1940s through the late 1950s in Los Angeles. All these books are worth reading. Here's the description for L.A. Confidential:

A horrific mass murder invades the lives of victims and victimizers on both sides of the law. And three lawmen are caught in a deadly spiral, a nightmare that tests loyalty and courage, and offers no mercy, grants no survivors.

This story easily has the makings of an awesome series. All the books would make for a great series! I think a series would work better for this story more than a movie. I just hope they get the right team of talent to develop it. 

Jordan Harper is set to write and executive produce the show. He was previously a writer and producer for the CBS drama The Mentalist. He most recently worked on Gotham as a writer and supervising producer. Hopefully, he can pull it off!