The Last of the Mohicans series heads to HBO Max with Watchmen director attached

By Nick Perry January 9, 2020

Paramount Television’s The Last of the Mohicans series reboot, based on James Fenimore Cooper’s classic historic novel, has landed at HBO Max.

WarnerMedia’s forthcoming streaming service — set to launch in May — has handed out a script order for the TV series. The series will be written by Emmy winner Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective) and Nick Osborne (All About Steve) and has Nicole Kassell of Watchmen fame on board to direct.

The new take of the classic French and Indian War novel is described as a retelling that focuses on the unlikely romance between Uncas, a young Mohican, and Cora, the mixed-race daughter of a British colonel.

The project was first put into development in April by Paramount Television, for which Fukunaga has also executive produced the Netflix limited series Maniac and TNT’s The Alienist. Fukunaga, Osborne, and Kassell will executive produce alongside Alex Goldstone (Welcome to the Jungle), Bard Dorros (Collateral Beauty), and Michael Sugar (Spotlight, Maniac).

Kassell garnered critical praise for her work on Damon Lindelof’s HBO drama Watchmen after working with the showrunner on The Leftovers, also for HBO. She has also directed episodes of Claws, Westworld, Better Call Saul, Rectify, Castle Rock and American Crime.

The Last of the Mohicans is no stranger to screen adaptation. The HBO Max project is just the latest in a long run of TV and film adaptations. The 1920 feature is considered a “culturally significant” take by the Library of Congress and is included on the U.S. National Film Registry. The novel was also made into a 1971 BBC series and a 1992 feature film starring Daniel Day-Lewis. FX also previously developed the novel but did not move forward with the project.

HBO Max is set to launch in May with a roster of classic programming from WarnerMedia’s portfolio (including Friends and The Big Bang Theory) and scripted originals that continues to get more intriguing. The Last of the Mohicans joins Grease: Rydell High, the Cristin Milioti-led comedy Made for Love, and the limited series Station Eleven, starring Mackenzie Davis are all in the original content pipeline. The service will cost $15 a month.

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