Bette Davis and Joan Crawford will “Feud” on the BBC, after the broadcaster picked up the Ryan Murphy series. It is the second major deal between Fox and the U.K. public broadcaster for an FX show after the BBC took “The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” which was a hit for BBC Two last year.
“Feud” stars Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford and Susan Sarandon as Bette Davis. Fox sold the show to the BBC, and it will air on BBC Two later this year.
The eight-part series comes from Ryan Murphy and follows the intertwined lives of the two stars as they enter the twilight of their careers, starting with their collaboration on “What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?”
“Feud” is Ryan Murphy’s latest anthology series and bowed on FX in the U.S. in March. The cable network has already greenlit a second season, which will tell the story of British royal couple Charles and Diana.
Fox 21 Television Studios produced the show, which also stars Catherine Zeta-Jones as Olivia de Havilland, Kathy Bates as Joan Blondell, Alfred Molina as director and producer Robert Aldrich, and Stanley Tucci as Warner Bros. studio head Jack L. Warner.
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Patrick Holland, controller of BBC Two, said the show is brilliantly realized. “It features some wonderful performances, a flawless recreation of period, and a delicious unraveling of a personal drama that had a massive impact on modern cinema. ‘Feud’ is a real treat,” he said.
Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution managing director David Smyth added: “BBC Two is the perfect home for our next series from creator Ryan Murphy, whose ‘The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,’ just won the BAFTA after airing last year on BBC Two.”
