Rosemary’s Baby Comes To Lifetime

We’ve been reporting on the Zoe Saldana mini-series version of Rosemary’s Baby for quite some time now and I’m sure many have been wondering, “Is it any good?” Well the wait is over as the series is coming to the Lifetime network, showing on Thursdays. Here’s a little background on the original version made for audiences to watch:

In 1968, renowned Polish film-maker Roman Polanski turned Ira Levin’s best-selling novel, Rosemary’s Baby, into a movie. It ended in a box-office success with Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes in the lead. Now, Agnieszka Holland is attempting to mirror that result with a mini-series and a stellar cast.

And, as reported on ToNight, inlike the movie, which was set in Manhattan, this Lifetime Channel mini-series gains momentum in the scenic locales of Paris. And Zoë Saldana and Patrick J Adams essay the roles of their formidable film predecessors.

The TV show opens with Rosemary and Guy devastated by her miscarriage. And so the English literature lecturer accepts a job in the City of Lights, where he hopes to finish his novel while he and his wife get a fresh start.

But Rosemary’s mugging irrevocably changes their life when their paths cross with that of an influential Parisian couple – Roman (Jason Isaacs) and Margaux Castevet (Carole Bouquet).

Polanski’s 1968 horror, while a hit, remains one of the 100 most controversial films of all time. It also garnered an oscar during the heyday of horror film. It rattled the cages of The National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures for “mocking religion and making perverted use of Christian beliefs”.

Rosemary’s Baby was also one of the first movies that dabbled in themes of Satanism and the occult. And it preceded The Exorcist (1973), The Omen (1976) and Demon Seed (1977). Interestingly, the film ended up haunting Polanski after its release when, a year later, his pregnant actress wife Sharon Tate was terrorized and murdered by followers of the Charles Manson family in her Los Angeles home.

• You can catch Rosemary’s Baby when it airs Thursdays on Lifetime Channel (DStv 131) at 8pm.

Here is the trailer that was shown when the series was slated from NBC: