With all this speculative chatter about how his days on the grid might be numbered, beloved Aussie larikin and McLaren Racing driver โ Daniel Ricciardo โ has pulled back the curtains on quite the backup plan: developing a fictional answer to Netflixโs hit series Formula 1: Drive To Survive for Disney-backed streaming platform Hulu.
โDetails about the projectโs logline are being kept under wraps. A search for a writer is underway,โ The Hollywood Reporter revealed in a publication exclusive.
โThe series โ which is currently in the early development stages โ hails from ABC Signature, Lionsgate Television and Temple Hillโs Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Phoebe Zimmer and Sydney Title. Daniel Ricciardo โ who currently drives for McLaren and has won an impressive eight Grand Prix races โ will executive produce.โ
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Given the only detail we know about Huluโs forthcoming Formula 1 series aside from the involvement of Daniel Ricciardo is that itโll be scripted, at this stage, thereโs plenty of room for imaginations to run wild.
Will it follow suit with the likes of Drive To Survive and Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinskiโs Formula One movie starring Brad Pitt by doubling down on the drama aspect?
Will it borrow the good-natured charms of Danny Ric and create a workplace comedy/mockumentary a la The Office?
Or will it straddle somewhere along the middle while highlighting the glamour of it all with an Entourage-style affair?
Who knows. The only thing for certain is thereโs a very tangible trend Hollywood is capitalising on right now.
RELATED: The Netflix Effect โ A Breakdown Of How โDrive To Surviveโ Changed Formula 1
As alluded to earlier, thereโs more than one fictional F1 project in the pipeline. Apple is currently bankrolling the aforementioned Formula One movie helmed by Joseph Kosinski and starring Brad Pitt โ which promises to deliver practical โin-camera actionโ similar to that of Top Gun: Maverick.
โCertainly seeing people react to an in-camera, authentically captured film like Top Gun: Maverick makes us all feel good that our approach works and is appreciated by audiences,โ Joseph Kosinski recently told The Wrap.
โItโs almost funny to me to see people who are so enamoured with real photography. Younger people almost havenโt seen a lot of it. Theyโre so used to CGI being a tool of big movies that when you shoot something for real, it feels innovative.โ
โThatโs exactly the approach for Formula Oneโฆ to shoot at the real races and real cars and capture it. Itโs going to be a huge challenge but an exciting one for me.โ
Formula One will see Pitt take on the role of a veteran F1 driver who comes out of retirement to mentor a โpromising rookie.โ Screenwriter Ehren Kruger (Reindeer Games, The Ring, Top Gun: Maverick) has been tapped to pen the story, with seven-time world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton signed on as a producer alongside the legendary Jerry Bruckheimer.
Additionally, Apple has recently acquired a feature-length documentary about Lewis Hamilton. Between all of the above and the next 100 seasons of Netflixโs Drive To Survive, there shouldnโt be nary a complaint from F1 fans about any lack of content.
Keep an eye out here for key updates on Huluโs scripted Formula 1 series being produced by Daniel Ricciardo.
Side note: what are the odds itโs still less scripted than DTS?
