Showtime boss Gary Levine has referred to the live-action Halo series as an “outlier” for their network, affirming that the show is a much better fit for Paramount Plus.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Levine addressed a decision that was made last year to move the Halo TV series from Showtime to Paramount+ as he shed new light on the reason behind the change of direction. He indicated that Halo was a deviation from Showtime’s programming roster but suited the “blockbuster mentality” of Paramount Plus.
“Halo was always a little bit of an outlier for us, in all honesty,” Levine admitted, suggesting that it didn’t impact the network’s larger plans. “We’ve been working on it for a number of years. There were times where we said, ‘How do we make a first-person shooter video game into a Showtime series?’ We worked hard to make it a real, character-based and interesting drama. It is filled with action, and I understand how it was an outlier for Showtime, and I understand why it’s in the sweet spot for Paramount+.
“Conversely, The Man Who Fell to Earth [which moved from Paramount+ to Showtime] is a creatively ambitious adaptation of the iconic film,” he added. “There wasn’t any big change in our programming strategy. Halo was a bit of an aberration and will do great business for Paramount+ and we’re producing it. I love the show and hope it’ll be a huge hit. As Halo emerged, it felt like Paramount+ could promote it bigger and better, and it seems to be more in their blockbuster mentality than us.”
Halo has been in development for film and television one way or another for many years now, with District 9 director Neill Blomkamp among those involved in trying to get it off the ground. It was finally announced in 2018, and fans were given a glimpse of the TV adaptation at last year’s Game Awards, where we saw Pablo Schreiber’s Master Chief in action for the first time.
The long-awaited Halo TV series will premiere on Paramount+ on March 24, with Pablo Schreiber starring as Master Chief alongside Danny Sapani and Olive Gray who will play Jacob and Miranda Keyes, respectively. Jen Taylor, the voice of Cortana in the Halo games, is reprising her role as the AI on the show. You can check out the full cast list here.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.
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