Film/TV

Harlequin has partnered with production and distribution company Centinel Media to adapt their books to TV movies and series. The plan is to release six film adaptations in 2025 (air dates and broadcasters to be announced), and continue through 2028, with up to 28 releases total. The first films in development are Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell by Taj McCoy, The Dachshund Wears Prada by Stefanie London, Sweet on You by Carla de Guzman, Second-Guessing Fate by Claire Robyns, Ordinary Girl in a Tiara by Jessica Hart, and an adaptation of the Montana Mavericks series. Executive producers include Centinel’s founder and […]

Simon & Schuster Children’s has entered a first look deal with Foundation Media Partners to develop film and TV projects based on their titles. Foundation plans to adapt books from the Little Simon Chapter Books & Graphic Novels library as animated and/or live action properties. “We’re thrilled to be able to partner with Foundation Media to bring great characters and series to life in a new dimension for our avid readers,” said Little Simon svp, publisher Valerie Garfield. “We believe great content can co-exist across many platforms and each one will enrich the storytelling experience.” Foundation founder and ceo Patrick […]

Entangled ceo and founder Liz Pelletier and Sheryl Clark have launched a production company, Premeditated Productions, which has a three-year first-look TV and film deal with Amazon MGM Studios. Clark was formerly president of Crooked Highway. The company will license Entangled’s backlist, to develop titles for tv, film, and video games. A series based on Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, two books from the bestselling The Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros published by Entangled’s Red Tower, is currently in the works at Amazon (preceding the new production company). Pelletier said, “Romance and fantasy have always been incredibly popular, but today […]

Penguin Young Readers has partnered with Lion Forge Entertainment to develop TV and film projects based on their titles. The first titles include Brian McCann’s Wannabe Farms, Tyler Knott Gregson and Sarah Linden’s North Pole Ninjas, M.D. Payne’s Monster Juice series and Francesco Sedita and Prescott Seraydarian’s The Pathfinders Society series. “Lion Forge is the perfect partner to bring some of Penguin’s most exciting properties to screens worldwide,” PYR president Jen Loja said. “With their expertise in engaging diverse audiences with unique yet universal stories, we couldn’t be more excited to see how these projects develop.” Lion Forge Entertainment president […]

At a presentation on Wednesday, HBO Max, which is rebranding as just Max in conjunction with Warner Bros. Discovery, announced a new live action Harry Potter TV series. J.K. Rowling will executive produce, along with Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts, but a writer and showrunner have not yet been selected. Also, “David Heyman is currently in talks to executive produce.” The Hollywood Reporter notes that the series will have a budget “commensurate with those of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon” (the former’s first season had a budget of $125 million). “The stories from each of Rowling’s Harry Potter books […]

Jenna Bush Hager has entered into a first-look production deal with Universal Studio Group, Variety reports, focused on optioning books for development. She indicates she is about to hire an executive “from the film and TV worlds” who “can really help create a company that stands by these missions” of finding new authors from diverse backgrounds. It’s unclear the extent to which Bush Hager will focus on optioning on her “Read with Jenna” selections or other titles from her broad reading; she says she read 100 books last year looking for her monthly picks. She says, “I think it will […]