Since 1962, Hollywood’s most notorious feud has been Joan Crawford and Bette Davis What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? altercations. Ryan Murphy‘s new anthology series Feud: Bette and Joan focuses on the dispute as well as a profound look at their personal relationship as women.
I think there’s something much more delicate and moving, and for me, what I love about the show is … the issues in the show are modern and women are still going through this sort of stuff today. Nothing has really changed. We really wanted to lean into that aspect of the show. (via Hollywood Reporter)
The series will be broadcast in eight parts and will star Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon, but Murphy insists that series will not be as campy as people expect but will focus on the deeper issues that lay within it.
Exec producer Dede Gardner agreed with Murphy’s sentiment about Feud‘s relevancy in 2017. “I think the show is deeply modern. I think it’s delicious in its celebration of a town that was less crowded, but I don’t think it romanticizes it. I think it’s called it out for its truisms, but it was brutal. These women were treated brutally and made to treat one another brutally,” she said. “Seemingly this was the only way anyone was going to get ahead, and I don’t think much has changed in that regard. I think we could stand to improve a great bit.”
Murphy was inspired to do the series by looking at the lack of women in Hollywood last year after several reports pointed to the startling few number of women and minorities positioned behind the camera despite the proliferation of TV shows in the Peak TV era. Since then, Murphy has launched the Half foundation, which aims to put more women behind the camera. (Via Hollywood Reporter)
The show premieres on FX Sunday March 5!
