Liam Neeson’s 2022 Flop Gets A Shot At Redemption With Fox’s Dark Thriller

Although one Liam Neeson action thriller from 2022 never came together quite right, Memory has gotten a shot at redemption with a dark new show from Fox that converts its story into a long-form format. Sometimes, even great adaptations can withstand a second go-around. When 1994’s Anne Rice adaptation Interview with the Vampire assembled an astounding cast including Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, and Stephen Rea, it seemed like the beguiling movie might never be outdone.

However, after a few decades of killer vampire shows like From Dusk Til Dawn: The Series and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, AMC took another shot at Interview with the Vampire with a longer series based on the same book that debuted in 2022. The result was a genuine masterpiece that made major stars of its leading men, Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson, as well as reintroducing Rice’s classic Gothic tragedy to a new generation of viewers.

Since the original movie was already perfectly good and its TV remake was even better, it stands to reason that a TV show remaking an already-flawed movie is even more understandable. Released in 2022, the Liam Neeson vehicle Memory was an action thriller from Just Play Dead director Martin Campbell. Based on the Jef Geeraerts novel De Zaak Alzheimer, the movie had a killer pitch, but squandered it with forgettable action sequences and a lack of depth. Fortunately, Fox’s Memory Of A Killer can now do justice to the novel.

Liam Neeson’s Memory Gets A Fox TV Adaptation

Created by Ed Whitmore, Fox’s Memory Of A Killer stars Patrick Dempsey as the hitman Angelo Doyle. While Angelo’s brother has already lost his memory to Alzheimer’s disease, Angelo is only just starting to see the effects of the disease materialize in his own faltering memory. Angelo has managed to meticulously hide his secret criminal career from his family for years, but when a hit is put out on his pregnant daughter, his fading memory starts to blur his worlds together.

While Memory Of A Killer has a bigger cast of characters than 2022’s Memory, that is not the only difference between the two movies. In Memory, Neeson’s aging hitman lives in Mexico and is sent on one last job in El Paso, whereas in Memory Of A Killer, Dempsey’s Angelo is based in New York City. Angelo maintains an elaborate second life posing as a photocopier salesman, while Neeson’s lonely protagonist is a full-time contract killer.

Both Dempsey and Neeson’s projects are based on 2003’s Belgian thriller The Alzheimer Case, directed by The Loft’s Erik Van Looy. However, while Memory is almost too straightforwardly similar to The Alzheimer Case, Memory Of A Killer changes a lot of plot details. These range from changing the setting to introducing the double life story, to adding Angelo’s backstory as a widower.

What To Expect From Memory Of A Killer Season 2 (When Does It Release?)

Patrick Dempsey with a gun in Memory of a Killer

The end of Memory Of A Killer season 1 threw Angelo a curveball when one villain’s death only opened up another can of proverbial worms with the revelation of a mysterious document. Meanwhile, Angelo learns that his dementia is getting worse near the end of season 1, meaning it seems increasingly unlikely that Memory Of A Killer’s protagonist will be able to keep his work and personal lives separate as the show continues.

While Memory Of A Killer season 2’s release date has not yet been announced, the Fox show is expected to return early in 2027 as part of the network’s mid-season schedule. Deadline reports that season 2’s cast will introduce Soul Food’s Boris Kodjoe as Tre, the Fourth Musketeer of Angelo’s friend group, while Meta Golding will play Angelo’s childhood love Mel when Memory Of A Killer season 2 arrives next year.