Paramount+ Is Turning a 90s Sylvester Stallone Classic Into Your Next Binge

If you remember the 90s crime flick 'Cop Land', you might be in for a surprise. Apparently, Hollywood's new favourite pastime—digging up cult classics and seeing if they still work—has struck again. And yes, this time the target is the Stallone-led tale of bent cops, small-town justice, and more testosterone than your average gym locker room. Paramount+ has snapped up the rights for a 'Cop Land' TV adaptation, and the details coming out are, frankly, a bit intriguing.

'Cop Land' – From Big Screen to Small Screen

Here's what's happening: Paramount+ is developing a series based on 'Cop Land', the 1997 movie that saw Sylvester Stallone playing quite against type as the understated sheriff of a sleepy Jersey town, neck-deep in a mess of corrupt New York City police.

Robert Levine, the chap behind 'The Old Man', is running the show here (quite literally—he's the showrunner). And for anyone worried the TV version might miss the film’s edge, don't fret: James Mangold, who wrote and directed the original, is back. He’s down as executive producer, director, and co-writer on the new take, so it looks like he wants the TV show to stick fairly close to his original vision.

Bit of Competition (and Not Much Else Yet)

This one's worth noting—Paramount+ didn’t just stumble across the rights to 'Cop Land' in a bargain bin. In fact, the project was apparently shopped around to four different outlets before finally landing at Paramount’s door. That suggests there’s actual excitement (or at least confidence in nostalgia-fuelled viewing figures) behind this one.

As for cast and other key details—utter silence. We don’t even know if Stallone or any of the original film’s heavyweight cast will pop up, which, if I'm being honest, means we're a long way off seeing this on your streaming menu just yet.

The Film: A Quick Refresher

• Original release: 1997
• Director/Writer: James Mangold (now EP and director/writer on the series too)
• Plot: Stallone plays the sheriff of a small town in New Jersey, up against corrupt New York cops who’ve made the town their dodgy little haven.
• Main cast: Sylvester Stallone (playing it surprisingly low-key), Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Peter Berg, Janeane Garofalo, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, Noah Emmerich, Cathy Moriarty.
• Box office: Modest hit, raking in over $63 million off a $15 million budget. Not too shabby for a film that got buried by Titanic a few months later.

One of the 'Cop Land' notes that's always stuck with me is how Stallone, best known for shouting his way through action franchises, absolutely underplayed the sheriff—in the best possible way. The supporting cast, laden with heavyweights who'd never say no to a bit of extra scenery-chewing, didn’t hurt, either.

A Few Key Points

Here's the single, reasonably juicy official bit from the initial reporting, if you want it distilled:

'Paramount+ has acquired the rights to adapt Cop Land as a TV series. Robert Levine will serve as showrunner, with James Mangold attached as executive producer, director, and writer. No word yet on casting or start of production.'