David Mamet tackles 7 deadly sins

David Mamet has signed a contract with Fox to develop a seven-hour series based on the Christian concept of the seven deadly sins, Variety reports.

The famed playwright, author of “Glengarry Glen Ross” and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, has agreed to write and direct the first episode and write at least two subsequent segments.

Mamet is no stranger to biblical material. In fact, he once co-authored a commentary on the Torah entitled “Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy” (2004), with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner. And although the series focuses on Christian concepts of sin (the seven deadly sins originated with a fourth-century Greek monk, later popularized by the likes of Dante Alighieri and Thomas Aquinas), the playwright has often trafficked in humanity’s darker motivations.

Arguably Mamet’s most famous work, “Glengarry Glen Ross,” a brutally frank portrayal of the lives of Chicago real estate agent, has plenty to say about greed. In fact, some of the play’s characters embrace greed as a virtue. An early scene in the movie version features a young Alec Baldwin whipping real estate salesmen into a frenzy and showing off a Rolex.

However he winds up approaching the seven deadly sins, it’s certain that Mamet, author of some 35 plays in addition to his books, movies and films, can’t be accused of sloth.