HBO passes on ‘Open,’ despite Ryan Murphy’s success with ‘American Horror Story,’ ‘Glee’
How about this for a surprise on Wednesday night? Despite being one of the most high-profile producers in Hollywood, Ryan Murphy will not have a new series on HBO in “Open.”
This project, which was also the product of “Dexter” alum Lauren Gussis, featured a great cast including Wes Bentley, Michelle Monaghan, and “Fringe” alum Anna Torv. It made it to the pilot phase, but there were apparently enough problems with it to keep the show from getting another shot. Given the subject matter here (modern sexuality), there cannot be many other suitors without changing the content of the show almost entirely.
In a statement announcing the news, HBO programming head Michael Lombardo had the following to say:
“After such a triumphant collaboration with The Normal Heart, everyone felt that Open was not the right next step for all involved … However, we fully expect to work together again in the near future.”
Murphy’s success with “The Normal Heart” was the reason we felt positive about the show’s future. With this, he still does have two other shows on in “Glee” (which is entering its final season) and “American Horror Story” (which is still doing very well). Murphy’s other recent show in “The New Normal” was canceled after only one season.
We do think that Ryan will be getting back into pilot season soon enough with other projects, and we know that Bentley in particular will be seen in some other works. With his resume, he is not going to be a guy to take these sort of announcements hard.
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Photo: HBO