The prolific and divisive Ryan Murphy, the creator of “Glee,” “American Horror Story” and “The New Normal,” is expanding his empire into HBO. In January it was announced that Murphy would be directing Julia Roberts and Mark Ruffalo in HBO movie “The Normal Heart,” an adaptation of Larry Kramer’s Tony-winning play about the ’80s AIDS crisis. And now the Hollywood Reporter notes that Murphy has gotten a pilot order for “Open,” a relationship drama that HBO picked up following a bidding war.
“Open” will be an “exploration of the complex, ever-evolving landscape of sexuality, monogamy and intimacy in relationships,” according to THR, with a multi-character focus. Murphy scripted the pilot with “Dexter” writer/supervising producer Lauren Gussis. The pilot will be shot this fall, with Dante Di Loreto (of “Glee” and “American Horror Story”) executive producing alongside Murphy and Gussis for Ryan Murphy Television and Fox 21. No casting decisions have been announced yet.
Murphy’s at work on the third season of “American Horror Story” (“Coven”) for FX and is looking at a likely fifth season renewal for “Glee” on Fox. The fate of NBC sitcom “The New Normal,” which just closed out its first season, is uncertain. He’s never been shy about topics of sexuality in his work, so it should be interesting to see what he does with the freedom offered by HBO.
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