Anyone who has seen the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, based on the book by Ken Kesey, has probably has a nightmare or two about the thoroughly evil Nurse Ratched, that terrorizes patients in the mental health hospital.
The new series, set in the 1940s, will bring us Nurse Ratched’s origin story (like a supervillain!).
Netflix is teaming up with Evan Romansky as writer and Ryan Murphy, the creator of American Horror Story: American Crime Story, among other popular titles to executive produce. Michael Douglas is also among the executive producers, and the owner of the screen rights to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Sarah Poulson, also an American Horror Story alumna, is set to star as the young nurse as we see how her experiences transform her from a normal nurse into a genuine monster. She is also a producer on the show.
There is also a pretty impressive list of supporting cast associated with the show including: Sharon Stone, Cynthia Nixon, Vincet D’Onorio, Rosanna Arquette, Don Cheadle, Judy Davis, Harriet Harris, Jon Jon Briones, Finn Wittrock, Charlie Carver, Hunter Parrish and Amanda Plummer.
Netflix actually won the rights to the show in a bidding wat with Hulu and Apple, which suggests that it looked very good on paper. They have already ordered two seasons, each consisting of nine episodes. Ryan Murphy has suggested that the show might last four seasons, with Nurse Ratched facing off against a different adversary in each until we get to the action of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but this remains to be seen.
For younger audiences not familiar with the cult classic, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was a 1975 film starring Jack Nicholson as Randle Patrick McMurphy, who managed to get himself transferred from prison to a mental health facility after he is convicted of statutory rape. He is looking for an easy way to finish off his sentence, but instead he encounters Nurse Ratched, a tyrannical and entirely evil overlord of the facility. He must then escape, and maybe save some of his new friends along the way. Things do not end well.
The film one all five Academy Awards, including best picture, best lead actor, best lead actress, best director and best screen play.
Nurse Ratched was originally played by Louise Fletcher, for which she won the best actress Academy Award. She then went on to feature in a variety of horror films including Exorcist II, Firestarter and Flowers in the Attic. She also went on to play some equally villainous roles in television, including Winn Adami in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and the mother serving a prison sentence in the American version of Shameless. We can’t wait to see if Poulson can fill her shoes.
An exact release date has not yet be shared, but filming for season one has wrapped, so we can expect episodes to arrive in 2020.