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Following a bidding war, Universal Global Television and Patrick Macmanus’ Littleton Road Productions have acquired the rights to “Biological War: A Scenario,” Annie Jacobsen’s latest novel out today. The television
adaptation will be taken out to buyers in the upcoming weeks.
“Annie’s spent her career reporting with such ferocious clarity, you can’t stop reading her words. I started the book in the morning and by nightfall, I was begging UGT to let me tell it,” Macmanus tells Variety. “What begins with a routine day leads to the end of the world six days later. But it isn’t ultimately a nihilistic show. Yes. There’s the dark excitement and exploration of the apocalypse. But there’s a parallel story of the instinct to protect and rebuild. A celebration of community and family. The wish-fulfillment of starting the human experiment over again in the hopes of getting it right this time around. The question at the heart and soul of our series isn’t Will we survive? It’s Who can we become?”
He continues, “I’m honored Annie agreed to entrust me with this adaptation and I’m eager to join her in bringing it to life.”
Macmanus and Jacobsen will serve as co-creators and executive producers on the series; Kelly Funke will also executive produce.
Last year, Macmanus created “Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy” for Peacock and is currently working on the second installment focused on Richard Ramirez (the “Night Stalker”), both under his overall production deal with UGT. Additionally in development at UGT is his adaptation of John Grisham’s “The Boys From Biloxi.”
Jacobsen is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, journalist and bestselling author. Her 2024 book, “Nuclear War: A Scenario,” is an international bestseller and is being adapted by Legendary Entertainment with Denis Villeneuve set to direct.
Macmanus is repped by CAA and Game Plan Media; Jacobsen is repped by CAA, Circle M+P, and Myman Greenspan Fineman Fox Rosenberg & Light.
