25 years have passed sinceJim Carreydemonstrated he was more than just a comedy actor inThe Truman Show, one of the films that have generated the most debates and still does despite the passing of time.
Inspired byThe Twilight ZoneepisodeSpecial Service, the film follows Truman, a man leading a seemingly normal life in a small town. What he doesn’t know is that every day of his life, since he was born, has been televised on the biggest and most popular reality show in television history.
Little by little, Truman begins to find cracks in his perfect world, until he tries to escape from his suffocating monotony until he discovers the horrible truth behind his existence and finally manages to get out into the real world.
Directed by Peter Weir, the film originally had a suspenseful or almost horror tone, but after Paramount Pictures bought the first script, Andrew Niccol was commissioned to rewrite it, delivering the successful version that would be seen in theaters. But Niccol went further.
In an interview with Screen Rant, the screenwriter revealed the details of the plot that the sequel to the film would have as a television series:
“There has been talk of doing a musical – believe it or not – or a series. When it’s a different art form, I don’t think it takes anything away from the original. In my version of a series, I thought it would be fun, if after Truman walked through the sky, the audience clamored for more (which you sense at the end of the film). I imagine there would be a network with multiple channels all starring a subject born on the show. If I set it in New York City, there would be girl living on the Upper East Side, a boy from Harlem, a kid from Chinatown, etc. Since they are all on their own channel and move in their own circles, they are never meant to meet. But at the end of the first season, the boy from Harlem and the rich girl find themselves drawn to each other. They both sense that the other is acting differently from anyone they’ve ever met…because for the first time, they’ve met someone who is not acting! (In the second season, the Network would desperately try to kill off their romance.)”
Related:Why The Truman Show Doesn’t Actually Understand Reality TV or Modern Culture
What Was Special Service About?
Premiering in April 1989 and written by J. Michael Straczynski,Special Servicefollows the story of John Selig, a man who discovers that the last five years of his life have been monitored and televised on a hit show.
UnlikeThe Truman Show, which sought to pose an existential dilemma and a moral debate about what is and is not allowed to be shown on television, or to what extent human beings have control over the exposure of their own lives,Special Serviceis much more of a satire of the egocentrism of the human being.
Black Mirrorrecently took a similar path withJoan is Awful, the first episode of its sixth season featuring the story of a woman whose life is turned into a series for a streaming platform, something she agreed to by signing the terms and conditions of the service.
