Due to a writing backlog, production of the Charlie Hunnam-starring Shantaram for Apple TV+ has been halted in Australia. Only two of 10 episodes shot so far, Variety reports.
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Though all episodes had been outlined in the writers’ room, it is understood that showrunner and high-profile screenwriter Eric Warren Singer (Top Gun: Maverick, American Hustle) had not yet completed all the necessary scripts. He will now leave the show. Although a new showrunner is expected to be hired soon, filming is unlikely to resume for several months while the remaining episodes are written.
The adventure drama is an adaptation of the eponymous epic novel by Gregory David Roberts, in which a drug-addicted former bank robber attempts to lose and reinvent himself in the slums of Mumbai. The novel has been published in 39 languages in 42 territories worldwide and sold six million copies.
A replacement showrunner with a focus on production logistics is to be hired. Sources close to the production told Variety that hiring should happen soon, and that producers are extremely pleased by what has been shot so far.
MacDailyNews Take: Disappointing, but, as anyone who’d ever worked in TV production knows, stuff happens – or, sometimes, not. Variety notes that the main cast “remains firmly attached,” so Shantaram will happen for Apple TV+, just later than sooner.
