NETFLIX REVEALS CAST FOR THEIR NEW TV SERIES ADAPTATION OF GROWN UPS NOVEL ABOUT A DUBLIN FAMILY CLAN

   GROWN UPS SERIES  

NETFLIX ANNOUNCES LEAD CAST

Netflix has announced lead cast for their new TV series adaptation of Marian Keyes novel GROWN UPS which, set in south county Dublin, follows the chaotic lives of the Casey clan, a noisy, tight-knit Irish family, who are bound together by a tangled web of loyalty, resentment, money, memory, 

Robert Sheehan, Sarah Greene and Barry Ward will star

and love. When the rock of the family, the “good son,” dies unexpectedly, it sets off a seismic emotional reckoning. Over the course of the next year, the Caseys will fall in and out of love, confront old wounds and make some new ones. They’ll be forced to face not only their grief, but the exhausting, 

Sinead Cusack, James Agnew and Aisling Bea will also star

relentless, and often ridiculous struggle of being an adult. Despite their age and responsibilities, the Caseys are far from grown up. Sarah Greene, Barry Ward, Aisling Bea, Robert Sheehan, Amy-Leigh Hickman, Adrian Dunbar, Sinead Cusack, Karin Hanczewski, James Agnew and Katelyn Rose Downey will star.

ANTHONY HOPKINS TO LEAD MOVIE ADAPTATION OF COMING OF AGE STORY A VISIT TO GRANDPA'S FROM DYLAN THOMAS

 ANTHONY HOPKINS TO LEAD 

A VISIT TO GRANDPA'S MOVIE ADAPTATION

A movie adaptation of Welsh writer Dylan Thomas' coming of age beloved story A VISIT TO GRANDPA'S has just scored Anthony Hopkins as lead! DJ Caruso is set to direct the film next spring with the story following a young boy sent to spend a summer with his charismatic and wildly eccentric grandfather on a remote Welsh farm. Expecting dull days and strict rules, the boy instead stumbles into a world of delightful chaos and imagination – where outrageous stories are spun, and a world of wonder, memory, and mischief unfolds.

GAY CAMPUS ROMANCE SEE YOU AT THE FINISH LINE TO BE TURNED INTO A TV SERIES

   TV SERIES ADAPTATION  

OUT OF SEE YOU AT THE FINISH LINE

According to Deadline, Noho Film and Television have bought the rights for a TV series adaptation of Zac Hammett's SEE YOU AT THE FINISH LINE for a six figure amount. Published earlier this year, the book follows Lucas, a sharp-witted, working-class rower, and George, an American golden-boy captain, whose uneasy alliance evolves into a tender but combustible love story against the backdrop of the famous boat race between Oxford and Cambridge universities.

NETFLIX UNVEILS THE LEAD CAST FOR THEIR AGE OF INNOCENCE 19TH CENTURY SET TV SERIES ADAPTATION

   AGE OF INNOCENCE  

TV SERIES REVEALS CAST AT NETFLIX

Back in April I told you that Netflix is preparing a new TV series adaptation of AGE OF INNOCENCE and today the streamer has announced the lead cast. Camila Morrone as Ellen Olenska, Kristine Froseth as May Welland, Ben Radcliffe as Newland Archer and Margo Martindale as Mrs. Manson-Mingott will topline the series of forbidden love in 19th century New York,  a passionate and heart-rending love triangle exploring themes of freedom, duty, identity and love in all its forms. This fresh take is true to Wharton’s novel but will speak to a new generation as we traverse the ballrooms and bedrooms of these young people, asking the question what is love — and what is lust? And should we ultimately be driven by our heads or by our hearts?

SEE FIRST IMAGES OF SAM CLAFLIN, BILL NIGHY IN PRIME VIDEO'S HARLAN COBEN TV SERIES ADAPTATION LAZARUS PLUS THE STREAMING DATE

   FIRST LAZARUS IMAGES   

WITH SAM CLAFLIN AND BILL NIGHY

Prime Video has unveiled first images from their TV series adaptation of Harlan Coben's LAZARUS  in which the story will revolve around a man who returns home after his father's suicide and begins to have disturbing experiences that can't be explained. He quickly becomes entangled in a series of cold-case murders as he grapples with the mystery of his father's death and his sister's murder 25 years ago. Our dearest Sam Claflin will lead as Laz, a well-respected forensic psychologist who has spent his whole life running from the pain of his past. It is only now when he returns home that he is forced to finally face up to it.

  BILL NIGHY WILL BE DOCTOR LAZARUS

Psychologist and father to Laz, Jenna and Sutton. A beloved figure within his community, he shares his son’s charm, dry humor, and charisma. In death, he wants his son to understand that they are more similar than Laz thinks. 

ALEXANDRA ROACH IS JENNA LAZARUS

Since her sister’s murder Jenna has buried herself in a world of spiritual practice but now when her brother returns home and starts experiencing unexplained phenomena, she is forced to confront secrets from her own past. David Flynn, Karla Crome, Kate Ashfield, Curtis Tennant and Roisin Gallagher will also star in the series which will start streaming around the world starting from October 22nd.

NEW BOOKS TURNED INTO TV SERIES: VICTORIAN THRILLER MURDER AS A FINE ART AND WW2 NOVEL ARMY OF SHADOWS TURNED INTO A DYSTOPIAN SERIES AT CHANNEL 4

 NEW TV SHOW ADAPTATIONS 

VICTORIAN MURDER AS A FINE ART

It will be turned into a Victorian series

I have two historical books today for you that are being turned into TV series, beginning with MURDER AS A FINE ART from David Morrell Victorian mystery thriller to be turned into series by A Higher Standard and Harris Films. Set in 1850s London, the novel blends fact and fiction as it follows Thomas De Quincey, the real-life and otorious opium-eater and essayist, as he’s implicated in a series of gruesome murders that appear to be inspired by his own sensational essay, “On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts.” To clear his name, De Quincey must team up with his brilliant daughter Emily and a pair of Scotland Yard detectives to stop a killer who’s turning theory into deadly practice. 

 

ARMY OF SHADOWS AT CHANNEL 4

Channel 4 is looking to make a six part drama out of Joseph Kessel's book ARMY OF SHADOWS, which was already turned into a classic film depicting the emergence of the French Resistance to the Nazi occupation of France during World War 2. 

Channel 4 is adapting it into a series

Channel 4 will switch it into the story of how resistance takes shape in a near-future authoritarian Britain. Under de facto American occupation, a former British army officer builds a covert resistance cell from scratch - navigating betrayal, moral compromise and the tension between patience and action - as young recruits fight to reclaim their country and their futures. Across six thrilling episodes, the series chronicles the early days of the British Resistance. From first kills and internal betrayals to propaganda campaigns, internment camps, and a climactic political assassination - this is a story about how freedom is taken and how it can be won back. Ronan Bennett is writing the series.

NEW BOOK ADAPTATIONS: HONEYMOON WITH HARRY WITH KEVIN COSTNER AND JAKE GYLLENHAAL, ALL IN MONTE CARLO, THE SUMMER OF SONGBIRDS

   NEW BOOK ADAPTATIONS  

HONEYMOON WITH HARRY FILM

We are having a day filled with a number of freshly announced book adaptations so let us jump right onto it starting with HONEYMOON WITH HARRY which will be turned into a movie at Prime Video based on best selling book by Bart Baker and what is more they already have two rather nice stars with Kevin Costner and Jake Gyllenhaal set as leads. This dramedy follows a man (Gyllenhaal) as he decides to go on a honeymoon with 

All In Monte Carlo will become a movie

his would-be father-in-law (Costner) after his fiancée dies two days before their wedding. 

 

 ALL IN MONTE CARLO

Also getting an adaptation to be penned by Anna Klassen is Anna Shilling's book ALL IN MONTE CARLO billed as First Wives Club meets The Devil Wears Prada, set in Monaco. The novel follows four women who cross paths in Monte Carlo, each, with their own story of betrayal. Together, the women form a secret pact, disguised as a book club, to exact revenge. But as their schemes unfold, they discover that getting payback, much like life itself, is rarely straightforward. 

  

THE SUMMER OF SONGBIRDS

Hulu is turning it into a TV series

Another streamer, Hulu has got their paws on another book they want to turn into a TV series. THE SUMMER OF SONGBIRDS by Kristy Woodson Harvey will be adapted by Brennan Peters as a story about the power of forged family — the family we choose, the family we fight to keep, again and again. It revolves around three girlfriends and their unbreakable bond forged in their childhood summers spent in North Carolina. Now in their 30s, each grappling with the harsh realities of adulthood, they’re forced to confront secrets and betrayals from both the past and present that threaten to unravel their chosen family

ANCIENT GREECE SET ROMANTASY EPIC SAGA A TRIBUTE TO FIRE TO BE TURNED INTO A TV SERIES

   A TRIBUTE OF FIRE   

ROMANTASY SAGA TO BECOME TV SERIES

According to Deadline Sariah Wilson's romantasy hit saga A TRIBUTE OF FIRE will be turned into a TV series by BecksN’Brats Films. Set in ancient Greece, it follows Lia, a fierce warrior princess dropped into the rival kingdom of Illion as a human sacrifice. She must outrun every

It's the first in The Eyes of the Goddess trilogy

man hunting her in order to save herself, her cursed kingdom and her family. This is a 1,000 year old tradition where two maidens are chosen to be slaughtered as repentance to one of their goddesses. While being hunted, Lia must make it to the goddess’s temple for safe refuge. The winding streets of Ilion are transformed into a labyrinthine maze with an armed man around every corner. No maiden has ever made it out alive, but Lia has trained for this. She secretly rigged the lottery so her name would be chosen. She plans to survive and break this curse of the past millennia. What she didn’t plan for was her sister to be randomly chosen as the second maiden. Along her death-defying journey, Lia becomes reluctantly drawn to Jason, an irresistibly charming and handsome Ilionian sailor she loathes to trust, but desires like no man before even though she is secretly betrothed to the Ilionian prince. Will her royal obligation or her heart win out in the end? If she even survives!

ALFIE ALLEN AND SHAZAD LATIF GO ON A WILD RIDE THROUGH NORTH AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST IN NEW ATOMIC TV SERIES TRAILER

   ATOMIC TRAILER  

FOR SKY'S NEW ACTION TV SERIES

Based on William Langewiesche’s book The Atomic Bazaar comes new action TV series ATOMIC which will arrive to Sky August 28th. When the path of free-spirited drug smuggler Max (Alfie Allen) collides with JJ (Shazad Latif), an enigmatic outsider on the run, an unlikely friendship is formed. 

 

 THEY ARE SWEPT INTO

a chaotic, high-stakes mission they never signed up for trafficking highly enriched uranium across North Africa and the Middle East, with the CIA, MI6, and a global web of opposing forces closing in fast. Leading the charge for the CIA is  skilled scientist and a Non-Official Cover officer Cassie Elliott (Samira Wiley). Convinced Max and JJ are in league with violent extremists, her relentless pursuit puts them all on a collision course revealing that nothing is what it seems, and everyone has an ulterior motive. The pair find themselves on a wild road trip , confronting covert operatives, an  internationally funded cartel, and ultimately their own pasts. What starts as a bid for survival slowly becomes something more: a reluctant partnership, a shot at redemption, and one hell of a ride.

 

THEY ALL COME TO BARNEYS TV SERIES ABOUT RISE AND FALL OF THE FAMOUS FASHION RETAIL EMPIRE

  THEY ALL COME TO BARNEYS  

TO BE ADAPTED INTO A TV SERIES

As Deadline reports the latest book to be adapted into a TV series is THEY ALL COME TO BARNEYS Gene Pressman's memoirs which are out

The book is out this September in bookstores

 this September. Joe Wright is set to direct the adaptation that will follow the three generation saga about Pressman’s family’s fashion retail empire. He was co-CEO, creative director, and head of merchandising and marketing for Barneys New York, which his grandfather Barney founded in 1923. Over eight decades under the Pressmans, first Barney, then his son Fred, then Fred’s sons Gene and Bob, Barneys grew from a small discount shop to the largest men’s store in the world, then an internationally recognized destination for men’s and women’s fashion, accessories and home furnishings. It was an American success story until ambition and risky business threatened to tear it all apart.

SEE TRAILER FOR NEW TV SERIES ADAPTATION OF SMILLA'S SENSE OF SNOW WITH HENRY LLOYD HUGHES

  SMILLA'S SENSE OF SNOW  

TV SERIES ADAPTATION TRAILER

After we have seen a movie adaptation a couple of years ago, Peter Hoeg's bestseller SMILLA'S SENSE OF SNOW is getting a TV series version as well. The series will have world premier over in Australia on their streamer SBS from July 30th! In Europe it will air on Viaplay and ARD in Germany later on and probably on ITV in UK. The six parter is a thrilling and genre-bending series set in 2040 where society is monitored through drones and body cams, energy is a privilege, and political tensions run high. 

 

 THIS NEW SF SERIES FOLLOWS

Smilla Jaspersen (Filippa Coster-Waldau), a smart and wealthy woman in her twenties, who lives in a social housing complex in Copenhagen. She is alone and leads a solitary life until she meets a young Inuit boy who finds a way to her heart. When the boy suddenly dies in mysterious circumstances, Smilla wants to know why. Her search for answers leads her to the icy scenery of Greenland and right to the centre of dangerous political power games. Smilla’s extraordinary abilities are the key to the truth – about the boy and her own identity. Henry Lloyd Hughes also stars. And yes, Filippa is another nepobrat, Nikolaj is her daddy.

 

THE MANY LIVES OF MISS K PERIOD SET TV SERIES ON DUTCH MODEL AND SECRET AGENT FROM WW2 ANNOUNCED

  THE MANY LIVES OF MISS K  

TO BECOME PERIOD SET TV SERIES

Dutch model and secret agent Toto Koopman is getting a TV series based on Jean-Noël Liaut’s THE MANY LIVES OF MISS K. As Deadline reports, it will depict Koopman’s compelling professional and personal life. Born to a Dutch cavalry officer father and half Indonesian mother 

Finite Films and TV is producing the series

in 1908, Koopman’s mixed heritage exposed her to discrimination that shaped her worldview. Twenty years later, Koopman arrived in Paris in the 1930s and made history as the first model of mixed race to be featured on French Vogue. When World War II engulfed Europe, she leveraged her social connections and multilingual abilities to gather intelligence for the Allied forces in Italy, using her glamorous personal to cover for clandestine work. But this dangerous double life led to her capture by the fascists in 1941. She was held in various detention camps and was set to be deported to Germany but escaped and rejoined the Resistance. In 1944, she was caught spying on high-ranking German officers and sent by the Nazis to the notorious women’s concentration camp at Ravensbrück, where she was one of the few who survived.

VINCENT LINDON AND TAHAR RAHIM TO LEAD NEW FRENCH MOVIE ADAPTATION OF VICTOR HUGO'S LES MISERABLES

   NEW LES MISERABLES  

MOVIE ADAPTATION CAST ANNOUNCED

After the Musketeers and Count Monte Cristo another big screen novel adaptation in France will be LES MISERABLES done this time by Studiocanal and Fred Cavaye. Set against the backdrop of revolutionary uprisings in France, it follows the character of Jean Valjean, a peasant sentenced to five years’ hard labour for stealing a loaf of bread whose story spans several years as he is released from prison and reintegrated into society,

Benjamin Lavernhe, Tahar Rahim and Vincent Lindon will lead

yet pursued by a police inspector on his trail. Vincent Lindon leads the cast in the role of Jean Valjean, with Tahar Rahim as his nemesis Inspector Javert. Benjamin Lavernhe and Camille Cottin are evil innkeepers Thénardier and Madame Thénardier. Noemie Merlant plays the tragic figure of Fantine, whose daughter, Cosette, Valjean takes in as his own. Now shooting, it will arrive November 2026.

JACK LOWDEN TO LEAD PERIOD SET DETECTIVE SERIES METROPOLIS OVER AT APPLE TV PLUS

  JACK LOWDEN TO LEAD 

METROPOLIS TV SERIES ADAPTATION 

Jack Lowden will lead the new series

According to Screen Daily, our dearest boy Jack Lowden will, beside shooting the seventh season of Slow Horses, also lead a TV series adaptation of METROPOLIS, the final novel in the Berlin Noir novel series by Philip Kerr. He wrote 14 novels in the series before he died in 2018. Tom Shankland, who recently helmed The Leopard saga for Netflix, is directing the period set drama for Apple TV Plus. The series focuses on the character of detective Bernie Gunther. METROPOLIS, set in 1928, tells the origin story of Gunther, a police officer newly promoted to the elite Berlin Murder Squad who must investigate what seems to be a serial killer targeting victims on the fringes of society.

SALLY HEPWORTH'S THE SOULMATE BOOK TO BECOME A TV SERIES

  THE SOULMATE  

 TO BE TURNED INTO A TV SERIES

Nine Perfect Strangers producers are creating a TV series our of Sally Hepworth's THE SOULMATE book. It follows Pippa and Gabe who

Bruna Papandrea's house is producing

 have the kind of marriage that everyone envies, as well as two sweet young daughters, a supportive family, and a picturesque cliff-side home – which would have been idyllic had the tall beachside cliffs not become so popular among those wishing to end their lives. Gabe has become somewhat of a local hero since they moved to the cliff house, talking seven people down from stepping off the edge. But when Gabe fails to save the eighth, a mysterious woman named Amanda, a sordid web of secrets begins to unravel, pushing bonds of loyalty and love to the brink. I have also heard from our Australian spies that one of our favourite Australian actresses Asher Keddie is also producing with Bruna Papandrea, so it might mean that she will also star in it. 

SEE NICOLAS DUVAUCHELLE, GREGORY FITOUSSI, GUILLAUME GOUIX IN THE 16TH CENTURY SET MINI SERIES FORTUNES OF FRANCE BASED ON ROBERT MERLE'S LEGENDARY SAGA

  FORTUNES OF FRANCE  

The series is available on Prime Video

HISTORICAL SERIES FROM FRANCE 

Some two years ago I told you that Robert Merle's 13 books long saga FORTUNES OF FRANCE (Fortune de France) is being turned into a six episode mini series by France2 with our dear Nicolas Duvauchelle starring alongside Gregory Fitoussi and Guillaume Gouix! The historical series, which used more than 750 extras in the production, aired in France last year, but it is now available on Prime Video for streaming. Check out the trailer with English language subtitles below and tell us what you think. 

 THE SERIES IS SET IN

Black Périgord, Château de Mespech, 1557. The religious wars are threatening to spread through France. Behind the ramparts of the castle of Mespech, surrounded by a dangerous, hostile and intolerant world, the Siorac family fights for its survival and its convictions. Jean (Nicolas Duvauchelle), the father, is forced to reconnect with violence to defend his ideals. Isabelle (Lucie Debay), the mother, fights to exist in a world where men make the law. Pierre (Simon Zampieri) and François (Marcel Thompson), the sons, suddenly enter adulthood, torn like their country between the Protestant faith of their father and the Catholic fervor of their mother. There is the life of a community, masters and servants, parents and children, epidemics, adversaries, battles and mourning, science and superstitions and love stories. The series is also known as The Huguenots at some places.

 

ERUPTION BESTSELLER FROM MICHAEL CRICHTON AND JAMES PATTERSON TO GET A BIG MOVIE ADAPTATION

  CRICHTON'S ERUPTION  

TO GET A BIG MOVIE ADAPTATION

After the latest Jurassic Park movie scored over 300 million bucks around the world just last weekend, another of Michael Crichston's popular

The book will be adapted by Sony

 books will be getting a big screen adaptation. According to Deadline, Sony paid a seven figure sum for ERUPTION which Crichton started writing before he died back in 2008 so the task was then given to James Patterson to complete the novel  which follows a history-making volcano explosion that is about to wipe away the big island of Hawaii. However, a secret held for decades by the U.S. military is far more terrifying than any volcano. Crichton and Patterson have together sold more than 700 million books around the globe to date. Kaz and Ryan Firpo are writing the script. 

1ST IMAGES FROM WAX FRUIT 19TH CENTURY GLASGOW SET TV SAGA ON THE RISE OF A VICTORIAN CLAN WITH MARTIN COMPSTON AND NICHOLAS RALPH

  WAX FRUIT COSTUME DRAMA 

ADS MARTIN COMPSTON, NICHOLAS RALPH 

Exciting news - we are getting a sweeping new costume drama! Set between the Gaelic-speaking Highlands and the gritty streets of Victorian Glasgow, WAX FRUIT follows the explosive rise of the Moorhouse family, who leave rural poverty behind to climb into the ranks of the city’s powerful merchant elite at a time when Glasgow was one of the most glamorous and powerful cities in the world. Your trusted spy has managed to dig out the first images from the new series for you. Martin Compston will lead the cast which will also have Nicholas Ralph alongside Ashley Jensen, Bill Paterson, Emun Elliott, Shirley Henderson, Molly Windsor, Elaine C Smith, Kenny Doughty, Juliet Cadzow, and Frankie Corio. It is based on apopular classic trilogy of books by Guy McCrone. This new series does not have a broadcaster yet, but it is planned with a possible five season arc.

COMPELLING COSY MYSTERY SERIES MURDER MOST PUZZLING WITH PHYLLIS LOGAN GETS AIR DATE AT CHANNEL 5 AND TRAILER

 MURDER MOST PUZZLING  

AIR DATE REVEALED FOR CHANNEL 5 SERIES

The series starts this Month on Channel 5

Channel 5 has turned Parnell Hall's twenty book series The Puzzle Lady Mysteries into MURDER MOST PUZZLING  cosy mystery TV series with Downton Abbey's Phyllis Logan as the lead and June 19th start date. The story will begin with a strange murder that shakes the sleepy market town of Bakerbury. The local police are baffled by a crossword puzzle left on the body. With their case goingnowhere, they turn reluctantly to Cora Felton [Logan], a recent arrival in Bakerbury who has a certain level of "fame" as the so-called "Puzzle Lady", which gives hope to the detectives that she might be able to crack the first ever murder to take place in their quiet hometown. But  the eccentric Cora isn’t who she claims to be, and as she throws herself into a murder case that has the town’s residents baffled, she starts to gather allies and enemies in equal measure. Check out the trailer below:

 

MGM + RELEASES TRAILER FOR THE INSTITUTE TV SERIES BASED ON STEPHEN KING'S NOVEL WITH BEN BARNES IN THE LEAD

   THE INSTITUTE TRAILER   

FOR STEPHEN KING'S MGM+ TV SERIES

The Institute starts July 13th on MGM+

MGM Plus has released first trailer for their eight episode series adaptation of Stephen King's THE INSTI- TUTE with Ben Barnes in the lead role which is set to hit the streamer July 13th. When 12-year-old genius Luke Ellis is kidnapped, he awakens at The Institute, a facility full of children who all got there the same way he did, and who are all possessed of unusual abilities. In a nearby town, haunted former police officer Tim Jamieson (Barnes) has come looking to start a new life, but the peace and quiet won’t last, as his story and Luke’s are destined to collide. Tim Jamieson is a  disillusioned ex-cop who takes a job as the night knocker in a small town, withdrawing from the world until Luke’s plight reignites him and gives him something to believe in. Mary Louise Parker will be  Ms. Sigsby, the charming but iron-willed director of the Institute and a true believer in its awful mission. She’s certain history will come to see her as a hero.