EXCLUSIVE: Universal International Studios (UIS) and Australian indie Matchbox Pictures are working on a television adaptation of Adrian McKinty’s novel The island.
published last year The island follows Heather Baxter, who marries Tom and moves from a small country town to Seattle. A working holiday abroad seems like the perfect way to get the new family together, but once they’re deep in the Australian outback, the jet-lagged and exhausted kids are all over their new mum. When they discover a remote Dutch island closed to outside visitors, the family talks to the ferry and embarks on an adventure far beyond the reach of iPhones and Instagram. But once they set foot on the island, which is run by a tight-knit tribe of locals, everything feels wrong.
The book was a bestseller and was published by the Irish author in 2020 The chain and Sean Duffy’s novels set during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. McKinty, Shane Salerno and The Story Factory are EPs.
“The island is the story of an underappreciated individual who may not command much respect, but rose to the occasion and showed everyone what ordinary people in extremis are capable of,” said McKinty. “There are some very difficult and shocking things that happen in the book, but what shines through for me is Heather’s wisdom, strength and tenacity – she is a tribute to the strong women who raised me and continue to inspire me. “
Kelsey Balance, SVP of Scripted Programming at UIS, praised McKinty for “writing compelling and complex character journeys.”
“The island has the right combination of what we’re looking for in a world story,” she added. “From the character’s perspective, it’s relatable and rich with a great outback setting, so we jumped right into it and embraced it.”
Beatrice Springborn, president of UIS and Universal Content Productions, spoke to Deadline and praised the novel’s ability to bridge the generation gap, similar to that of Netflix. Ginny and Georgia.
The development was revealed when Balance and Springborn handled the Berlinale series market.
The standard drama from the UIS label Matchbox Poor behavior is shortlisted for the inaugural Berlinale Series Award, and Balance told Deadline that “incredible filmmakers are coming from Australia” — an area UIS is focused on.
The team is now looking for an American or Australian writer The island.
“The island is in line with the projects we are trying to find at Matchbox,” added Springborn. “We want to showcase what they do best: working with Australian talent, but making their projects resonate around the world.”
Springborn and Balance spoke at the Berlinale this afternoon about UIS’s international strategy and territorial approach. At a separate Berlinale panel earlier this week, Springborn said that if her outfit catches the eye, she likes to connect with European talent parallels Creator Quoc Dang Tran, “want them to be our local partners”.
UIS is developing a series of novels for television, including Jessica George’s debut mommy.
Source: Deadline
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