EXCLUSIVE: To Live And Die In L.A., the cult 1985 MGM movie written and directed by William Friedkin, is headed to the small screen. In a competitive situation, WGN America has landed a drama series adaptation of the action thriller, with Oscar winner Friedkin directing and executive producing. Friedkin has created the TV adaptation with another Oscar winner, Bobby Moresco (Crash). Moresco will write the script and will executive produce. I hear the project, from MGM Television (Fargo) and Tribute Studios, has received a script-to-series commitment and is expected to go straight to series upon script approval.

To Live And Die In L.A. is a reimagining of Friedkin’s influential film, which helped launch the careers of its principal cast of then-unknowns, Willem Dafoe, William Petersen, John Pankow, Jane Leeves and John Turturro.

Like the film (you can watch a trailer below), the TV adaptation is based on the novel by former…