Steven Spielberg is no stranger to long movies, but the Oscar-winning “The Fabelmans” director sounds like he’s ready to dive into “prestige TV,” expressing his desire to helm a long-form TV series and singling out a recent hit show he would have directed had he been given the chance.
Appearing on the Smartless podcast, Spielberg was asked if he’d be interested in directing a prestige limited series, and he revealed that he’s ready to dive into long-form storytelling.
“I do have an appetite for long-form, and someday, I will direct a long-form series,” Spielberg said. “I mean, if someone would have brought me ‘Mare of Easttown,’ I would have done that. [Laughs] That was a beautifully directed story.”
“Mare of Easttown,” of course, is the Emmy-winning HBO limited series that aired in 2021 and starred Kate Winslet, directed entirely by Craig Zobel and written by Brad Ingelsby. Perhaps Spielberg could be tapped for Season 2?
The director also revealed that while he hasn’t directed a long-form TV series yet, he nearly made “Lincoln” as a miniseries when he was struggling to get financing.
“I was willing to do ‘Lincoln’ as a six-hour [series] because I couldn’t raise all the financing for it,” said Spielberg. “No one believed in it…I went around town and everyone turned me down.”
The filmmaker said he was gearing up to set the project up at HBO before the financing ultimately came together, and the film was released in 2012 by Disney.
“I was ready to make a deal with HBO to do it and expand it to six hours. Tony Kushner’s first draft was 150 pages, so I had the goods. I had the material,” he continued. “I don’t know if I could have talked Daniel Day-Lewis into doing six hours, but I was on the brink of that.”
“Lincoln” went on to win Oscars for Day-Lewis for Best Actor and for Best Production Design. Spielberg is currently in the Oscar race once again for his deeply personal drama “The Fabelmans,” which just picked up the Golden Globe awards for Best Director and Best Motion Picture (Drama).
Spielberg is no stranger to television having gotten his start directing TV episodes and movies, and he of course produced HBO’s lauded miniseries “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific,” but he didn’t direct any episodes of those shows.
There’s a first time for everything.
Listen to Spielberg’s full appearance on Smartless below.