NBC is developing the 1985 film St. Elmo’s Fire as an hour-long drama series.
The Wrap is reporting that the network has already placed a script sale for the series which will have Josh Berman set to write and executive produce.
The original film starred Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, and Mare Winningham as recent college grads trying to navigate their new found adult responsibilities. The center of their social life is the Georgetown tavern, St. Elmo’s Bar, where they would frequently gather to discuss what was going on in their respective lives and careers. It is considered one of the seminal “Brat Pack” films of the mid-1980s.
Choosing St. Elmo’s Fire as a potential television series is a rather curious choice. While the film was a modest box office success, it was hated by the critics of the time. David Denby of New York magazine panned the film saying “St. Elmo’s Fire isn’t drama, it’s gossip, and peculiarly early-adolescent gossip— a movie designed to be picked apart on the telephone.” He also called director Joel Schumacher “brutually untalented.” The film has a rather poor 45% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and earned Lowe a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor.
At best, the nostalgia that people hold for the film can most likely be traced back to the hit theme song, “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion)” from John Parr, which hit number 1 on Billboard magazine’s Top 100 for two weeks in September 1985.
A previous attempt to turn the film into a TV series happened in 2009 with Topher Grace and writer Daniel Bucatinsky involved.
