'Fatal Attraction': All About the Paramount+ TV Series Remake

Many of us are familiar with the plot of the 1987 movie Fatal Attraction. Michael Douglas and Glenn Close star as a man and a woman who engage in a one-night stand only for Close's character, Alex, to become dangerously attached to Douglas's Dan when he's ready to return to his wife and child. (It doesn't help that Dan is dismissive and cruel.) 

In 2023, Paramount+ reimagined the film in an eight-episode series that aired from April 30 to May 28, 2023. The series focused on the same central plot as the film while exploring the mental health of Alex more closely and fairly. As Joshua Jackson told Entertainment Weekly, "That movie is basically every man's worst nightmare come to life, and our show is a nightmare. It is a nightmare for men."

Here is everything we know about the Fatal Attraction remake.

Related: Lizzy Caplan Reveals How an Intimacy Coordinator and Psychologist Helped Her Reinvent 'Fatal Attraction' Character

When did Fatal Attraction series premiere?

Fatal Attraction premiered on Sunday, April 30, 2023 on Paramount+. The first two episodes of the show aired back-to-back with subsequent episodes airing weekly.

What is Fatal Attraction about?

Described as a reimagining of the original 1987 movie, the show followed along with the affair between Dan (Joshua Jackson) and Alex (Lizzy Caplan). Prior to its release, Paramount+ explained, "The new series will explore fatal attraction and the timeless themes of marriage and infidelity through the lens of modern attitudes toward strong women, personality disorders and coercive control."

The show breaks ties with the original movie in two key areas: It is said to better explore Alex's mental health and sees Dan charged with second-degree murder. 

Glenn Close, who starred as Alex in 1987, has admitted that she felt the original film failed to address her character's mental health concerns. Close told The New York Times in 2017, "Now she’s considered one of the greatest villains ever, and that to me is a mistake. I’ve never thought of her as a villain, just in distress."

Related: See the Cast of 'Fatal Attraction' Then and Now

Caplan was well aware of this conundrum and saw the series as an opportunity to right a few wrongs. As she explained to NPR'S Fresh Air, audiences were happy to label Alex as "obsessed" and "evil, horrible, despicable" as well as to blame for the affair. In the era of the remake, things are different. 

Caplan said, "When you watch it now, it’s very difficult to not have some follow-up questions about that. That version of the film can’t exist in 2023 because of these questions; because we’re now primed as audiences to want to know more about the woman, where she was coming from, and also to place some very well-deserved blame on the man."

How many episodes of Fatal Attraction are there?

Fatal Attraction included eight episodes.

Who is in the Fatal Attraction cast?

Lizzy Caplan (Alex Forrest)

Lizzy Caplan was cast as Alex Forrest, the role originally made infamous by Glenn Close in the 1987 movie. 

Joshua Jackson (Dan Gallagher)

In the new series, Joshua Jackson plays Dan Gallagher, the man who has an affair with Alex.

Amanda Peet (Beth Gallagher)

Amanda Peet portrays the role of Beth, the wife who is cheated on. Deadline describes Beth as "a loyal wife, loving mother, and successful small business owner whose world unravels when her husband Dan’s (Jackson) indiscretion threatens to destroy their life together."

Alyssa Jirrels (Ellen Gallagher)

Jirrels appears in Fatal Attraction as Ellen, the daughter of Jackson's Dan and Amanda Peet's Beth.

Toby Huss (Mike Gerard)

Huss plays the role of character Mike Gerard, an investigator and also a close friend of Jackson's Dan Gallagher.

Reno Wilson (Earl Broker)

Wilson's character, Earl Broker, is a longtime police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Isabella Briggs (Stella)

Newcomer Briggs played the role of Stella in the series. She is described by Deadline as "cheerfully energetic with a warm vibe, she is welcoming and confident and disarming when she wants to be friends."

Many other actors and actresses  joined Fatal Attraction for a handful of episodes, including Carlos Pratts (Benny), Burt Bolos (Phil Packer), Gary Perez (Rolando Cabral), Tiago Roberts (Gabriel Ibarra), Vanessa Martinez (Jeannette Ruiz), Jesse Mackey (Scanlon), Alfred Smith III (Terry Sands), Michelle Twarowska (Olena Kuzma), and Anthony L. Fernandez (Suarez).

Next, HBO Books Another Stay at 'The White Lotus'—Everything We Know So Far About Season 3.