Now, the in-demand writer has been tapped by FX to develop a new short-term series based on one of Kurt Vonnegut’s best loved sci-fi novels, Cat’s Cradle. As reported by Deadline, it appears the project is still in its early stages as there aren’t any actors attached to the show at this point.
Published in 1963, Cat’s Cradle follows a bizzare sci-fi plot that satirizes the Cold War arms race. The story revolves around a writer named John who becomes acquainted with the children of a fictional Nobel prize winning co-creator of the atomic bomb, and learns about a dangerous alternate form of water called ice-nine. John and the children eventually end up on a strange, fictional island called San Lorenzo.
The series will be the first Vonnegut novel to be adapted for the small screen, according to Entertainment Weekly, though the author himself did host a series, called Kurt Vonnegut’s Monkey House, which dramatized several of his short stories for Showtime in the early ‘90s. PBS anthology American Playhouse also adapted two of his short stories: Who Am I This Time? in 1982, and Displaced Person in 1985. The latter episode, based on a story set in World War II in about a black German orphan even earned its producers, including Barry Levinson, an Emmy for Outstanding Children’s program.
This will be Hawley’s third project with FX. Along with writing/exec producing Fargo, which launched its second season last month, he’ll be writing/executive producing the X-Men-themed pilot Legion. These two shows, as well as Cat’s Cradle, are part of the writer/producer’s overall deal with the cable network.
In addition to FX Productions, IM Global is co-exec producing. Brad Yonover (Swimfan) and Elkins Entertainment’s Sandi Love will co-exec produce.
