Emmy Rossum's 'Furious' becomes summer hit after scrappy development
The Hulu thriller 'Furious', starring and executive-produced by Emmy Rossum, has emerged as a summer breakout series and secured a second-season renewal shortly after its finale.
Hulu’s eight-part thriller "Furious" has quickly become one of the season’s breakout series, with viewership for episode seven rising 40% from the premiere and a Rotten Tomatoes rating that has remained near 98%. The show was renewed for a second season four days before its August 31 finale, an unusually early decision for a streaming series.
The series was developed by Rossum’s production company, Composition 8, which she founded after leaving the long-running drama "Shameless" in 2019. Rossum declined a lucrative offer to stay on the Showtime series, saying no amount of money would divert her from her goal of creating female-focused stories.
"There was no number that was going to make me want to stray from my goal," Rossum said.
To find source material, Rossum tasked her team with scouting older films with strong female leads. They identified the 1987 thriller "Black Widow," whose premise of a female FBI agent pursuing a female serial killer resonated with the new series. Rossum also noted a personal link, recalling that actress Theresa Russell, who played the killer in the film, had worked with her on the 2002 movie "Passionada."
"The elevator pitch felt immediately sticky, which is: a female FBI agent hunting a female serial killer. Immediately, I'm in," she explained.
The concept was pitched to Hulu, where creator Liz Meriwether, known for "New Girl" and "The Dropout," came on board as showrunner and executive producer. Meriwether shaped the series around Rossum’s character Alice Black, a former NYPD detective now with the FBI, while Lola Petticrew portrays the antagonist Catherine.
"Alice is the central character that has the furthest to grow," Rossum said.
The show explores themes of misogyny and toxic workplace dynamics, expanding on elements that were only hinted at in the original film. Critics have highlighted the ensemble cast, including Steve Way, Quincy Tyler Bernstine and Scoot McNairy, for adding depth to the narrative.
Rossum, who describes herself as an underdog, said the success of "Furious" demonstrates that making compelling, unavoidable work is the most effective way to drive industry change.
"Instead of asking and demanding change, you just have to make it unavoidable. You have to make something that is undeniable," she said.