Peter Shaffer's 1979 play Amadeus is getting a new screen adaptation, this time around as a limited series. White Lotus star Will Sharpe will star in the title role, with Joe Barton (The Lazarus Project) writing. Julian Farino (Giri/Haji) and Alice Seabright will direct.
The series is expected to premiere via U.K. broadcaster and streamer Sky in 2024, with international distribution to be announced. NBCUniversal is handling international sales.
Shaffer's play takes inspiration from real-world figures, most famously composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, telling a mostly fictional story of intense rivalry between the world-famous musical genius and one of his less-remembered contemporaries, Antonio Salieri.
The work premiered at London's National in 1979 starring Paul Scofield and Simon Callow, coming to Broadway the following year with Ian McKellen and Tim Curry. Miloš Forman directed a 1984 film version starring F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce, which won eight Academy Awards including Best Picture. The play has continued to flourish in the years since, getting a Broadway revival in 1999 and countless London stagings along with several radio productions.
STV Studios' Two Cities Television is producing the forthcoming series in association with Sky Studios. Paul Gilbert and Megan Spanjian are serving as executive producers for Sky Studios, and Michael Jackson and Stephen Wright are executive producers for Two Cities. Barton, Sharpe, and Farino also serve as executive producers.
