Announcement: Lionsgate Television UK Annouces Two Upcoming Projects In Partnership With Publishers Harper Collins
May 25th, 2017
Lionsgate Television Uk Annouces Two Upcoming Projects In Partnership With Publishers Harper Collins And Myriad Edition
Novels “The People at Number 9” and “The Other Side”
to be developed for television series
London, England May 25th, 2017 — Lionsgate Television UK announced two new development projects in partnership with publishers Harper Collins and Myriad Editions – “The People at Number 9” and “The Other Side”. Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) will produce both series and sell global rights, including the U.S. and UK.
“The People at Number 9” is published by Harper Collins and written by Felicity Everett. It is a dark and delicious novel about envy, longing and betrayal in the suburbs. Lionsgate is currently attaching a writer to adapt as a returning series.
Steve November, Creative Director, Lionsgate UK Television comments, “Felicity’s novel is a brilliantly incisive and acerbic view of families and friendships, vanities and vulnerabilities; the smallest actions have the biggest consequences for these real, recognisable, flawed people and we are delighted to be adapting “The People at Number 9” for television.”
Author Felicity Everett added, “I am so excited that The People at Number 9 is to be brought to life by Lionsgate. From the moment it’s published, a book belongs to its readers as much as its author and their take is always fascinating, so to see this story told in a whole new format, interpreted by a team with such a brilliant track record will be like being inside the head of a reader who is enjoying your book, and I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be.”
Kate Mills, Publishing Director at HQ at Harper Collins, said, “From page one of The People at Number 9, when Sara eyes her new neighbours across the street, I felt I knew these characters personally and I was sure that readers would recognise and respond to them too. This is a universal tale of our times, a look at the lines that get crossed in friendships and marriages, the fallings-out that go on in every road, wherever you live. It’s been terrific seeing the book embraced by readers and reviewers and I’m delighted that viewers will now get to meet the new neighbours as well.”
“The Other Side” is published by Myriad Editions and written by debut novelist Stephen Mullan.
November added “The Other Side is not your typical crime novel or memoir. In Joe Agnetti, Stephen has created a huge character, an antihero who takes us with him on every step of his journey through love, betrayal, guilt, confession and redemption, keeping us on the edge of our seat whilst never losing his sense of humour. It’s a brilliant debut and we are very excited to be able to bring Joe to the screen.”
Candida Lacey, Publishing Director of Myriad Editions, said: ‘Stephen came to our attention through Myriad’s annual work-in-progress competition, First Drafts. His 5,000-word extract was selected for the shortlist from over 2000 entries. The judges, including bestselling crime writers Peter James, Elizabeth Haynes and Elly Griffiths, were all impressed by the authenticity of Stephen’s writing and his compelling storytelling. The Other Side will make cutting-edge television and bring Stephen’s work to the global audience it deserves.”
Both deals were negotiated for Lionsgate by Alexandra Keen, Executive Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs, and Rachael Elliott, Senior Legal Counsel. THE OTHER SIDE was negotiated for Myriad Editions by Beverley Gee. THE PEOPLE AT NUMBER 9 was negotiated with Emily Hayward Whitlock at the Artists Partnership in association with Sallyanne Sweeney at Mulcahy Associates.
About “The People at Number 9”
When Gav and Lou move into the house next door, Sara spends days plucking up courage to say hello. The neighbours are glamorous, chaotic and just a little eccentric. They make the rest of Sara’s street, her closest friends and even her husband Neil, seem dull by comparison. When the hand of friendship is extended, Sara is delighted and flattered and in no time at all, the two couples are soulmates. And the more time Sara spends with Gav and Lou, the more she longs to make changes in her own life. But those changes will come at a price. Soon Gav and Lou will be asking things they’ve no right to ask of their neighbours, with devastating consequences for all of them.
About “The Other Side”
“Met detective Joe Agnetti finds himself addicted to petty crime as he works out the demons of a life spent undercover. Investigating his own crimes whilst coming to terms with a past love, falling in love again, searching for redemption and desperate to confess, Joe’s life is rapidly spiralling out of control.”
These two projects continue the expansion of Lionsgate’s UK television business under CEO Zygi Kamasa. The company recently announced the development of the best-selling UK Number one non-fiction-bestseller “Jerusalem” from award winning novelist Simon Sebag Montefiore for Television and in recent times announced an investment in production companies Potboiler Television, Bonafide Films, Primal Media & Kindle Entertainment. Lionsgate Television UK also co-financed the hit Channel 4 comedy Damned which is greenlit for a second series.
As one of the largest independent television businesses in the world, Lionsgate’s slate encompasses nearly 90 series on 40 different U.S. networks, including the ground-breaking Orange is the New Black, fan favourite Nashville, Casual, The Royals, Greenleaf, Dear White People and Kicking & Screaming along with eagerly-anticipated new series such as White Famous for Showtime, Step Up for YouTube Red and Candy Crush for CBS.
For further information please contact:
Lorna Mann LMann@lionsgatefilms.co.uk
ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) is a vertically integrated next generation global content leader with a diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, premium pay television networks, home entertainment, global distribution and sales, interactive ventures and games and location-based entertainment.
With the acquisition of Starz, Lionsgate adds to its portfolio of businesses the flagship STARZ premium pay network serving 24.3 million subscribers and the STARZ ENCORE platform with 31 million subscribers. The combined company will operate five over-the-top (OTT) streaming services and the STARZ app delivering content directly to consumers.
The Company’s feature film business spans eight labels and includes the blockbuster The Hunger Games franchise, the Now You See Me series, the box office smash La La Land, which won six Academy Awards®, the hit franchise sequel John Wick: Chapter Two, double Oscar winner Hacksaw Ridge, Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween, The Shack, Saban’s Power Rangers, CBS Films/Lionsgate’s Hell or High Water, Roadside Attractions’ critically-acclaimed Manchester by the Sea, Codeblack Films’ breakout concert film Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain and Pantelion Films’ Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.
One of the largest independent television businesses in the world, Lionsgate’s slate of premium quality series encompasses nearly 90 shows on more than 40 different networks. These include the ground-breaking Orange is the New Black, the fan favorite Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show, the hit drama The Royals, the acclaimed Casual, the breakout success Greenleaf, the network reality shows Kicking & Screaming and the eagerly-anticipated Candy Crush, and hit STARZ series including Outlander, Black Sails, Survivor’s Remorse and Power, the second highest-rated premium pay television series of 2016.
Lionsgate’s home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of more than 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as a foundation for the growth of the Company’s core businesses. The Lionsgate, Summit Entertainment and Starz brands are synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com
ABOUT FELICITY EVERETT
Felicity Everett grew up in Manchester and attended Sussex University. After an early career in children’s publishing and freelance writing, which produced more than twenty-five works of children’s fiction and non-fiction, Felicity’s debut The Story of Us was published in 2011. She has just returned from four years in Australia and lives in Gloucestershire with her family.
ABOUT HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS
HarperCollins UK is a division of HarperCollins Publishers, the second largest consumer book publisher in the world, with operations in 18 countries. With two hundred years of history and more than 65 unique imprints around the world, HarperCollins publishes approximately 10,000 new books every year, in over 30 languages, and has a print and digital catalogue of more than 200,000 titles. Writing across dozens of genres, HarperCollins authors include winners of the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Newbery and Caldecott Medals and the Man Booker Prize. HarperCollins UK has offices in London, Glasgow and Honley, and can be found online at www.harpercollins.co.uk.
To explore HarperCollins’ 200 year history, including a list of 200 iconic titles, fascinating stories and artefacts from the archive, visit www.hc.com/200.
ABOUT STEPHEN MULLAN
Stephen Mullan grew up in Scotland and graduated with a degree in History from the University of London before joining the Metropolitan Police Service. He served undercover for many years before leaving the force to follow his dream to be a writer. Stephen Mullan is a pseudonym.
ABOUT MYRIAD EDITIONS
Myriad has been publishing original literary fiction and graphic novels since 2004, and quickly built a reputation as an innovative publisher committed to discovering and nurturing talented authors. Best-selling authors include crime writers Elizabeth Haynes and Lesley Thompson, winners of Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award Jonathan Kemp and Ben Johncock, and graphic authors Kate Evans, Darryl Cunningham and Una. Myriad champions emerging authors through two work-in-progress competitions. The company has recently forged a partnership with independent, non-profit media co-operative New Internationalist, and has offices in Brighton, Oxford and London. To find out more about Myriad visit www.myriadeditions.com