American Gigolo
Genre
Based onAmerican Gigolo
by Paul Schrader
Developed byDavid Hollander
Starring
Theme music composer
Opening theme"Call Me" by Blondie
ComposerMarcelo Zarvos
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
Executive producers
ProducerMatthew Barber
Running time44–60 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkShowtime
ReleaseSeptember 11 (2022-09-11) –
October 30, 2022 (2022-10-30)

American Gigolo is an American neo-noir crime drama television series developed by David Hollander. It is based on the 1980 film of the same name written and directed by Paul Schrader. The series stars Jon Bernthal as Julian Kaye, the protagonist of the original film, alongside Gretchen Mol, Lizzie Brocheré, Gabriel LaBelle, Leland Orser, and Rosie O'Donnell.

American Gigolo premiered on Showtime on September 11, 2022. In January 2023, the series was canceled after one season.

Premise

Julian Kaye is exonerated 15 years after being arrested for murder and struggling to find his footing in the modern-day Los Angeles sex industry. He seeks the truth about the frame that sent him to prison all those years ago, and hopes to reconnect with his one true love, Michelle.

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Guest

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date [1]U.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Pilot"David HollanderDavid HollanderSeptember 11, 2022 (2022-09-11)0.133[2]
2"Pretty Baby"David HollanderDavid HollanderSeptember 18, 2022 (2022-09-18)0.159[3]
3"Rapture"Tucker GatesDavid Hollander & Cami DelavigneSeptember 25, 2022 (2022-09-25)0.208[4]
4"Nothing is Real But the Girl"Gregg ArakiEmily KaczmarekOctober 2, 2022 (2022-10-02)0.124[5]
5"The Escape Wheel"Damian MarcanoDavid Bar KatzOctober 9, 2022 (2022-10-09)N/A
6"Sunday Girl"Natasha BraierWalter BlountOctober 16, 2022 (2022-10-16)N/A
7"Atomic"Cheryl DunyeWalter Blount & Alye MillerOctober 23, 2022 (2022-10-23)N/A
8"East of Eden"Damian MarcanoNikki Toscano, Russell Rothberg, Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie, & Alye MillerOctober 30, 2022 (2022-10-30)N/A

Production

Development

A television adaptation of the 1980 film American Gigolo, written and directed by Paul Schrader and starring Richard Gere, was announced as being in development on October 29, 2014. Jerry Bruckheimer, a producer on the original film, was set to executive produce the potential series, with Paramount Television Studios serving as the production company.[6] On November 2, 2016, it was announced that Showtime had set up the project for development, with Neil LaBute attached as writer.[7] The project was subsequently ordered to pilot on March 11, 2020, after going through multiple different incarnations, with Ray Donovan's David Hollander set to produce the series as well as write and direct the pilot.[8]

On June 15, 2021, it was announced that Showtime had given the project a 10-episode series order, with Hollander set as showrunner.[9][10] On April 23, 2022, it was announced that Hollander left the project after an on-set misconduct investigation.[11] The series premiered on September 11, 2022.[12] On January 30, 2023, Showtime canceled the series after one season.[13]

Casting

After a casting search took place in early 2020,[10] Jon Bernthal was cast as the lead alongside the pilot order announcement in March 2020.[8] In November 2020, Gretchen Mol was cast in a lead role,[14] with Rosie O'Donnell added in a starring role the following month.[15] Lizzie Brocheré, Gabriel LaBelle, and Leland Orser joined the main cast in January 2021, with Wayne Brady set to star in a recurring capacity that same month.[16][17][18]

Filming

Principal photography began on July 12, 2021, in Los Angeles.[19] On April 27, 2022, it was reported that production was shut down for four days due to Hollander's dismissal and an actor being unavailable at the moment.[20] On May 12, 2022, it was announced that production was shut down again for at least two weeks as David Bar Katz exited the series.[21]

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 35% approval rating with an average rating of 5.2/10, based on 37 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Wasting Jon Bernthal's considerable charms on a tedious murder mystery, this American Gigolo is more dud than stud."[22] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 50 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[23]

References

  1. ^ "Shows A-Z - american gigolo on showtime". The Futon Critic. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  2. ^ Salem, Mitch (September 13, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 9.11.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  3. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 20, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 9.18.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  4. ^ Salem, Mitch (September 27, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 9.25.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  5. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (October 4, 2022). "ShowBuzzDaily's Sunday 10.2.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals Updated". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  6. ^ Friedlander, Whitney (October 29, 2014). "Jerry Bruckheimer, Paramount TV Developing 'American Gigolo' TV Show". Variety. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  7. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 2, 2016). "'American Gigolo' TV Series Adaptation Set At Showtime From Paramount TV, Jerry Bruckheimer & Neil LaBute". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (March 11, 2020). "'American Gigolo' Series Reboot Starring Jon Bernthal Gets Pilot Order At Showtime". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  9. ^ Petski, Denise (June 15, 2021). "'American Gigolo' Reboot Starring Jon Bernthal Gets Showtime Series Order". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Goldberg, Lesley (June 15, 2021). "'American Gigolo' Update Ordered to Series at Showtime". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  11. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 23, 2022). "David Hollander Out As Showrunner Of 'American Gigolo' Showtime Series After Investigation". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  12. ^ Romano, Nick (July 14, 2022). "Jon Bernthal gives the people what they want in sexy American Gigolo trailer". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  13. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 30, 2023). "Showtime Not Proceeding With 'Three Women', Cancels 'Let The Right One In' & 'American Gigolo' Amid Consolidation With Paramount+". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  14. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 16, 2020). "'American Gigolo': Gretchen Mol To Star With Jon Bernthal In Showtime Pilot Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  15. ^ Porter, Rick (December 10, 2020). "Rosie O'Donnell Joins Showtime's 'American Gigolo'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  16. ^ Petski, Denise (January 19, 2021). "'American Gigolo': Lizzie Brocheré & Gabriel LaBelle Join Showtime Pilot Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  17. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 29, 2021). "'American Gigolo': Leland Orser Joins Showtime Pilot Reboot". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  18. ^ White, Peter (January 26, 2021). "Wayne Brady To Guest Star In Showtime Drama Pilot 'American Gigolo'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  19. ^ "American Gigolo". Production List. June 21, 2021. Archived from the original on June 23, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  20. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 27, 2022). "Production On Showtime Series 'American Gigolo' Shut Down Following Showrunner David Hollander's Dismissal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  21. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 12, 2022). "'American Gigolo' Shuts Down Production Again As Co-EP David Bar Katz Exits Too". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  22. ^ "American Gigolo: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  23. ^ "American Gigolo: Season 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 9, 2022.

External links

Showtime original programming
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