French drama Spiral to be remade in the US

LA-based Endemol Studios, the studio behind Hell on Wheels, is to remake French crime drama Engrenages (aka Spiral) for US audiences.

The show launched in France on Canal+ in 2005 and is now into its fifth season with a sixth in development, and has picked up audiences in the UK on BBC Four and the US on Netflix.

Endemol Studios will now create an English-language remake of the show, which follows a murder investigation that exposes corruption in the French legal system.

“Engrenages offers a hyper-realistic take on the French judicial system. The show’s masterfully complex storylines and layered characters give us the right blueprint to further explore society’s ever-changing codes of justice and develop a distinctive, unapologetic, gripping television drama set against the backdrop of today’s US legal system,” said Endemol Studios Philippe Maigret, CEO, Endemol Studios.

Son et Lumière produces the French version (pictured), which comes from Vassili Clert and Daniel Dubois.

Production giant Endemol launched Endemol Studios in August 2011. David Goldberg, the chairman and CEO of Endemol’s overall stateside business, Endemol USA, recently announced he was leaving the company at the end of the year.