CBS is reimagining Frankenstein with Ryan Phillippe as the lead

There is a new series in the works on CBS that will reimagine the story of Frankenstein. And now that Ryan Phillippe has been cast in the lead, we have hope that the series could be interesting.

Frankenstein’s monster will be reborn once again. At least, that’s what CBS is hinting at now that they have cast Ryan Phillippe as the lead in Alive, their reimagining of the classic Mary Shelley novel.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the story is not a retelling of the original, so much as a modernization that will have Phillippe taking on the role of San Francisco police investigator, Mark Escher, who returns from “the dead” following a fire and attack at his home. For six months, Mark was believed to be dead. And then after all that time with no word, he reappears, haunted by visions of a case that he had been working on at the time of the attack. And of course, he is no longer the same man he was before he disappeared.

Also part of the cast is Katrina Law, who will play Mark’s wife, a medical examiner and pathologist by the name of Elizabeth. She can tell that something is different and wants to get to the bottom of what is going on with her husband, even as she is thrilled to have him back.

This need to know what happened (for both of them) leads to her ex-husband, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a scientist on the run, who is also working a very secretive project. And with a Chinese ethics board on his heels, whatever he is working on is clearly not on the up and up.

I don’t know about you, but Alive sounds fascinating and even a bit similar to the show Forever, which was loved by its fans even as it suffered in the ratings. Perhaps it is the whole immortal medical examiner thing that has me comparing these two shows, but either way, Ryan Phillippe might be able to take this show in fascinating directions.

The fact that we still get a Dr. Frankenstein is important, because it gives the series more depth and weight, even as the story itself seems to have a modern feel. We don’t need another Frankenstein’s monster. But at the same time, if the scientist has perfected the idea of bringing people back to life, that could be a fascinating storyline to investigate, especially if it did not require piecing different bodies together to create one new person.

Ryan Phillippe is certainly a draw for the show in many ways. Fans of the actor from his time on Shooter might be interested to see how he follows up that role, which was serious and hard-hitting in many ways. Plus, Phillippe has that serious vibe we expect out of a role that is a cross between police investigator and Frankenstein’s creation.

Alive sounds like it may have a lot to offer viewers, and I don’t just mean its leading man. Fans of the classic novel get a chance to see the story in a fresh way, and those of us who love a mix of police shows and drama get something new to indulge in.

There is no word yet as to when Alive starts filming or if it will be introduced as part of CBS’ 2019-2020 scheduling. However, it does seem likely we will see a pilot sometime this year. We have high hopes that the series will do well, particularly with Ryan Phillippe in the lead, and with such an interesting take on the classic material.