'Mad Men' producer plans Coppola TV show

Like 'Mad Men', 'The Conversation' would be a modern period piece, this time set not in the sixties, but the seventies, which has already been brought successfully to the TV screens in the UK with 'Life on Mars'.

'The Conversation', like the film starring Gene Hackman, would tell the story of surveillance expert Harry Caul and the people watching him.

The TV series will feature standalone stories that look at the 1970s through the noughties big brother culture and will address the issue of media manipulation.

The show is the brainchild of producer Tony Krantz who has been working on the project on and off for ten years. He is partnering with Sony Pictures TV and Coppola's American Zoetrope.

Speaking to Variety, Krantz said: "It gives us an opportunity to look back at the 1970s through the filter of 2009. The issues of privacy and individuality, and issues of spying and listening, are as relevant now as they've ever been. This is the perfect vehicle to tell those stories."

Krantz had previously worked on a modern-day version of the programme for ABC, but it failed to make it to the small screen. Ten years ago he sold another version to NBC, but that too did not see the light of day.

'The Conversation' won three Oscar nominations in 1975, including for best picture.