Starz Developing The Rook as a Series with Twilight’s Stephenie Meyer, Lionsgate, and Liberty Global
Debi Moore
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Starz has really put itself on the map with series like “Ash vs. Evil Dead,” “American Gods,” and “Outlander”; and the network is about to tackle another small-screen adaptation with Daniel O’Malley’s award-winning 2012 novel The Rook. And they’re working with someone whose name should be quite familiar…
Per Variety, Starz has given a series order to “The Rook” from Twilight Saga author Stephenie Meyer, Lionsgate, and Liberty Global.
The series marks Liberty Global’s move into original drama in partnership with Lionsgate. The supernatural spy thriller will be executive produced by Meyer and Stephen Garrett (“The Night Manager”). Playwrights and screenwriters Sam Holcroft (Rules for Living) and Al Muriel (Precious & Rich) have adapted the story for TV. Garrett will serve as showrunner under his Character 7 banner. The project was previously set up at Hulu.
Starz head Chris Albrecht announced the series yesterday at the network’s presentation to the Television Critics Association summer press tour: “We are thrilled to add the talents of Stephen Garrett and Stephenie Meyer to our creative family and forge our partnership with the Lionsgate Television Group and Liberty Global. “‘The Rook’ is instantly addictive from the very first scene and introduces what we believe will be one of the most fascinating and thrilling female protagonists on television.”
Liberty Global chief programming officer Bruce Mann added, “We want shows that are distinctive and have a European sensibility. It’s a shiny drama from a U.S. studio with a universal story, based in the U.K. with a strong female lead. We think it will travel really well.”
“‘The Rook’ is a major premium property driven by an amazing creative team, and it’s not only a terrific addition to the Starz platform but the perfect series to launch a content alliance with our friends at Liberty Global,” said Lionsgate Television Group chairman Kevin Beggs and Jim Packer, Lionsgate’s president of Worldwide Television & Digital Distribution.
Liberty Global will carry the show in the countries where it has cable platforms. Lionsgate will distribute the show in the rest of the world.
Here’s the synopsis of the book, which won the 2012 Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel:
“Dear You, the body you are wearing used to be mine.”
So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by corpses – all wearing latex gloves (and startled expressions). With no memory of who she is or how she got there, the only way she can discover her identity and escape those who want to destroy her is to follow the instructions in a series of letters left behind by her former self.
She learns that she is a Rook, a high-level operative in the Checquy, a secret government agency that protects the world against supernatural threats while keeping the populace in the dark. In her quest to save herself and unmask a traitor who wants her dead, Myfanwy must learn to harness her own rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability and thwart a conspiracy more vast than she could ever have imagined. Along the way she encounters a person with four bodies, a woman who can enter her dreams, and children transformed into deadly fighters.
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