Keith Haring painting a backdrop for the Palladium nightclub, May 11, 1985 (all photos courtesy the Keith Haring Foundation)
Graffiti and pop art icon Keith Haring, widely recognized for his social activism and his visual vocabulary of animated painted figures with bold outlines in bright colors, is getting the TV treatment.
The show, which does not yet have an approximate release date, will be based on Brad Gooch’s biography of the artist, Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring, released last year. Gooch will be executive producing the show alongside British production company Working Title Television and the Keith Haring Foundation, according to a press release shared with Hyperallergic. British director Andrew Haigh, perhaps best known for directing the 2023 romantasy film All of Us Strangers, will be writing, developing, and producing the show.
Haring began making chalk drawings on unused black advertisement boards in New York City subway stations in the early 1980s. The artist was openly gay and made many artworks advocating for LGBTQ+ visibility. He also advocated for safe sex and greater awareness of AIDS, the disease that ultimately claimed his life in 1990, at age 31. His murals can be found in public and sometimes unexpected sites across New York City’s five boroughs: a handball court in East Harlem; Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn; the bathroom of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Services Center in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, and many more.
He continued to grow his reputation with public exhibitions in Times Square and other prominent locations; participation in major international exhibitions such as Documenta in 1982 and the Whitney Biennale and the São Paolo Biennale the following year; and murals for museums and nightclubs such as the Palladium.
The artist established the Keith Haring Foundation in 1989 to carry on his legacy via the preservation of his artworks and archives, authorizing usage of his works in projects such as this, as well as providing grants to those affected by HIV/AIDS and children in need.
A spokesperson for the Keith Haring Foundation told Hyperallergic that they were “thrilled” to be collaborating on the biopic “to ensure that the series remains faithful to Keith Haring’s personal history and his artistic vision.”
In a statement, Haigh added that Haring’s work is a “joyful call to action, a celebration of life even in the midst of adversity and struggle.”