HBO and A24 are developing a new drama series based on the world of Angel Heart, with Zac Efron attached to star and executive produce. Zach Baylin, creator of Black Rabbit, is writing and executive producing, while Jonathan van Tulleken, known for his work on Shōgun, is expected to direct multiple episodes and also executive produce.
The series is inspired by William Hjortsberg’s 1978 novel Fallen Angel and its sequel Angel’s Inferno. It centers on a struggling New York City paparazzo who makes a living tracking down people who do not want to be found. He is hired by a mysterious man to locate a missing woman, but the search leads him into a darker world where powerful elites may be hiding the truth, and something possibly supernatural may be involved.
This project will be the second screen adaptation of Hjortsberg’s novel, following Alan Parker’s 1987 cult film Angel Heart. That movie starred Mickey Rourke, Lisa Bonet and Robert De Niro and followed a private investigator whose case leads him to New Orleans, where he becomes entangled in a series of brutal murders. Although the film received mixed reviews at release and faced controversy over its original X rating, it later gained a strong cult reputation for its atmosphere and style.
The new series was initially developed by Efron and A24 before Baylin joined the project. Van Tulleken then came aboard because of his experience directing cinematic television. HBO later stepped in to partner with A24 after the package reached the market. HBO and A24 previously collaborated on the Emmy-nominated series The Sympathizer.
For Efron, this marks another collaboration with A24 after The Iron Claw, which brought him some of the strongest reviews of his career and became a major domestic box office success for the studio. He is also set to appear in A24’s Famous and Amazon MGM Studios’ comedy Judgement Day.
Baylin has been active across film and television, including the Netflix crime series Black Rabbit and a recent Lance Armstrong project sold to Apple. Van Tulleken continues to build on his television work with upcoming projects including Cape Fear and Lucky.
