Ryan Murphy Sells Nurse Ratched Series Starring Sarah Paulson to Netflix

Ryan Murphy and Sarah Paulson are together again, with Netflix ordering a series that will explore the origins of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” character Nurse Ratched, Variety has confirmed.

Netflix has given the series a two-season, 18 episode commitment. It begins in 1947 and will track Ratched as she morphs from an average nurse into the monstrous authority figure she became in the novel and subsequent film. Paulson will star as the infamous nurse, with Murphy attached as executive producer.

Along with Murphy, Michael Douglas, who produced the film, will also serve as an executive producer. Aleen Keshishian, Margaret Riley and Jacob Epstein of Lighthouse Management & Media will also executive produce. Evan Romansky, who created and wrote the project, will co-executive produce. Paulson will produce along with Paul Zaentz from the Saul Zaentz Company. The Saul Zaentz Company controls the rights to the film. Fox 21 Television will produce. Murphy is currently under an overall deal at 20th Century Fox TV.

This is the latest in a long line of collaborations between Paulson and Murphy. Paulson has appeared in every season of Murphy’s FX anthology series “American Horror Story” and “American Crime Story: People v. OJ Simpson.” Paulson has been nominated for five Emmys for her work with Murphy, winning one last year for “Crime Story.”

Murphy, Paulson, and Romansky are repped by CAA. Romansky is also repped by Lighthouse.

“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was originally a novel written by Ken Kesey that was published in 1962. It was subsequently adapted into the 1975 film of the same name, which was produced by Douglas and Saul Zaentz. Louise Fletcher played Ratched. Jack Nicholson played the lead role of Randle McMurphy, co-starring with Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers among others. Milos Forman directed. The film received widespread acclaim, winning five Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Fletcher, Best Actor for Nicholson, as well as Best Picture.

Deadline first reported this news.

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