'Tudors' writer turns attention towards Alexander the Great

An argument could be made that, throughout the annals of history, no one did more in less time or had a greater impact on the world as Alexander the Great. For some reason, though, Alexander's life has largely remained an untapped gold mine that television and film have mostly avoided. Sure, there was the Oliver Stone film almost a decade ago which starred Colin Farrell, but that movie underperformed and was viewed critically as a disappointment.

Is the time right for a big Alexander series? Michael Hurst, who wrote 'The Tudors' and the upcoming History Channel ' Vikings' series, certainly seems to think so. He has been signed to write 'Alexander,' a new series about the life of the Macedonian ruler. 

The project will be co-produced by Germany's ZDF Enterprises, Beta Film and Gruppe 5 Filmproduktion.

Uwe Kersken, Gruppe 5 managing partner, will work closely with Hurst on the project, which will run between eight to 12 hour-long episodes, with a goal of three seasons. The starting date for shooting is intended to be 2014.

If the show is well done, I am certain that other distributers will pick it up and everyone will get the chance to see it. This certainly seems to fall in the wheelhouse of something that HBO would air, doesn't it?