Would you believe that Neytiri and Lucius Malfoy starred in a TV remake of one of the greatest scary movies ever made? In 2014, Zoe Saldaña and Jason Isaacs led a small-screen adaptation of Roman Polanski’s iconic psychological horror film “Rosemary’s Baby,” yet it’s been totally forgotten.
The miniseries, which aired as a pair of two-hour episodes on NBC, follows the same basic plot as the 1968 film and the novel on which it’s based. Rosemary (Saldaña) moves into an apartment building with her husband (“Suits” star Patrick J. Adams), only to attract the attention of their Satanic neighbors after becoming pregnant. Isaacs plays one of those neighbors. The biggest difference is the setting: While the original takes place in New York City, the miniseries relocates Rosemary and her husband to Paris. Polish director Agnieszka Holland, who made “Europa Europa,” helmed the adaptation.
Unlike Polanski’s acclaimed film, the miniseries didn’t earn a place among the greatest horror TV shows. NPR panned it, while Time found it boring. Variety’s review questioned Saldaña’s casting as Rosemary, contrasting her portrayal with Mia Farrow’s in the original film. The review argued that Farrow brought a sense of fragility to the character that made her predicament feel more dire, while the future “Lioness” star portrayed Rosemary with greater agency.
Zoe Saldaña predicted fans wouldn’t embrace the remake
Zoe Saldaña didn’t expect the 2014 “Rosemary’s Baby” remake to win over fans of the original film. In fact, she said so before the miniseries even premiered.
“The fans of the classic will not like the new, so that’s okay,” she said on Entertainment Weekly’s SiriusXM show (via CNN). “Let me just then have fun. Once you remove that pressure, that people don’t accept remakes, then it was all about just me taking the opportunity to play an amazing character, to work with an amazing director, and to be in Paris for three months.”
The miniseries went on to receive a lukewarm response. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 27 percent approval rating from audiences. Its television ratings were underwhelming, too. The first episode, which aired on May 11, 2014, drew 3.67 million viewers and earned a 1.1 rating in the key 18-49 demo.
