Indie Playground (All Creatures Great & Small, The Undeclared War) has teamed with filmmaker Richard Shepard (Girls, Dom Hemingway, The Perfection) to option Alex Marwood’s bestseller ‘The Wicked Girls’ for development as a limited series.
Shepard is attached to write, direct and executive produce.
‘The Wicked Girls’ is a psychological thriller that tells the story of struggling journalist Kirsty Lindsay who is reporting on a series of attacks on young female tourists in a seaside vacation town. When her investigation leads her to interview carnival cleaner Amber Gordon, both of their lives are turned upside down. For Kirsty and Amber, it’s the first time they’ve seen each other since they met on a summer morning twenty-five-years earlier, when they were just eleven years old. By the end of that fateful day, they had both been charged with murder. Now with new, vastly different lives—and unknowing families to protect—will they really be able to keep their wicked secret hidden?
Colin Callender, Scott Huff and David Stern will oversee development and executive produce for Playground.
Shepard said, “I’ve been obsessed with this book for years, and I was super excited that the folks at Playground shared my passion. It’s a unique and emotional character driven thriller, and I can’t wait to dive in with Colin, Scott and David and bring it to life.”
“Alex Marwood wrote a novel filled with complex female characters and page turning thrills. We were hooked from page one by the story of Kirsty and Amber and how their past secrets unravel to form a fascinating relationship that upends both their lives,” said Callender, Huff and Stern. “We are huge fans of Richard’s work and have been looking for something to do together. When he brought us Alex Marwood’s compelling thriller we jumped at the chance to work with him. We can think of no better material than ‘The Wicked Girls’to show off his talents as a writer and director.”
Richard Shepard won a Primetime Emmy Award and the DGA Award for directing the pilot episode of ABC’s ‘Ugly Betty’ and has since gone on to direct 10 pilots to air including “Criminal Minds”, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” and Apple’s “Acapulco”. He has also helmed pivotal episodes of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, ‘Girls’ and most recently “Welcome to Chippendales”. His films include the Golden Globe nominated “The Matador” starring Pierce Brosnan, 2013’s ‘Dom Hemingway’ starring Jude Law and Emilia Clarke and 2018’s ‘The Perfection’ starring Allison Williams and Logan Browning.
Alex Marwood is the pen name of novelist Serena Mackesy. Her other bestselling works include ‘The Temp’, ‘Virtue’, ‘Simply Heaven’ and ‘Hold My Hand’. Marwood is represented by Watson Little. Shepard is represented by CAA and 3Arts.
Jon Creamer
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