Frank Spotnitz’s Big Light Productions, the company behind such hits as “The Man in the High Castle” and RAI’s “Leonardo,” has snagged the rights to L.M. Logan crime thriller novel “29 Seconds.”
Founded by its CEO Frank Spotnitz, who was also an executive producer and writer of the seminal sci-fi drama series “The X-Files,” Big Light is teaming up with Tomorrow Studios, producer of Netflix’s hit manga adaptation, “One Piece,” to adapt the bestseller as a limited drama series with the working title, “One Name.”
To be written by London School of Economics-educated and former lawyer Sara Collins, the psychological revenge thriller turns on Sarah, a university lecturer who faces harassment from her boss.
An encounter with a powerful figure offers her a deal to solve her problems with no consequences. A life-changing 29-second phone call will bring into question whether she is willing to risk everything she holds dear for the sake of revenge.
Described as gritty, suspenseful and packed with unpredictable twists, “One Name” asks: If you were given the opportunity to have one person disappear from your life forever without repercussions, would you take it?
Said exec producer Spotnitz: “T.M. Logan is famed for his seriously addictive storytelling and gritty narratives that have audiences hooked worldwide, and ‘29 Seconds’ is no exception. It has three key things in abundance that make it perfect for an adaptation to a television drama – a sensational story, a strong IP with global appeal, and of course, it is hugely entertaining.”
“Working together with the extremely talented Sara Collins and our producing partners Elizabeth Kesses of EJK Productions and Tomorrow Studios to adapt this thrilling piece of storytelling is incredibly exciting, and we look forward to bringing this development project to Mipcom,” he added. Spotnitz will also be speaking at a Producers’ Hub panel titled “A Question of Survival – Talents in Crisis” on Oct. 18.
“T.M. Logan novels are a gift for TV with propulsive storylines and gripping plot twists,” Kesses concurred, adding: “The theme of sexual harassment in the workplace makes ‘29 Seconds’ such a unique thriller.”
Collins remarked: “It brings up big questions about power, consent and retribution in a dark academic setting. But what really draws me to it is the woman at its heart, who is suspended between two rotten alternatives with no way out.”
“There are shades of Patricia Highsmith in her dilemma, with so much delicious potential for taking her on a journey that will stretch her moral code and sense of self,” she added.
“One Name” will be produced by Big Light Productions and Tomorrow Studios and executive produced by Spotnitz and Kesses alongside Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements of Tomorrow Studios.
The optioning deal was brokered with Sheila David of Catapult Rights on behalf of Darley Anderson and Associates, Kesses and Chris Sutherland for Big Light Productions.
Bonnier Zaffre published ’29 Seconds’ in 2018. Two of Logan’s novels, ‘The Holiday’ and ‘The Catch,’ have already been adapted as dramatic series.
