MUMBAI: Fox Television Studios (FtvS) will serve as the entertainment studio for HarperCollins Publishers, developing original content based on its existing library, as well as new HarperCollins titles – initially in the mystery and romance categories.
Content will be developed and distributed across multiple platforms worldwide, including television, DVD, and digital media including internet, mobile/wireless and emerging applications. The announcement was made by Fox Television Studios president Angela Shapiro-Mathes.
The first deal resulting from the partnership is for TV series development based on the popular legal suspense novels by international best-selling author Lisa Scottoline, which center around a group of female partners in the fictional, Rosato law firm.
Scottoline’s first novel in this nine-volume series of thrillers, Legal Tender, was published by HarperCollins in 1997. To date, she has written 13 novels. Scottoline presently has 10 million copies in print in the US and is published in 23 countries.
Additionally, Fox Television Studios has optioned The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble. Her novel chronicles a year in the life of a group of women who form a book club, only to see their own personal stories, trials and tribulations mirrored in the literary works they discuss.
"I’m thrilled to be working with HarperCollins in a venture that connects our two worlds in this way. This collaboration gives us unprecedented access to an untapped resource of talented writers – new voices for the TV and digital space. It also allows FtvS to pursue publishing opportunities for the original programming we develop and produce,” said Shapiro-Mathes.
To facilitate projects and serve as liaison between FtvS and HarperCollins, Fox TV Studios has retained veteran television producer Karen Glass to work out of HarperCollins’ New York City offices. An experienced executive producer, show-runner and development executive, Glass has developed numerous award-winning shows for broadcast, cable and syndication.
HarperCollins president and CEO Worldwide Jane Friedman said, "This is a unique partnership that offers endless possibilities. We will now have a professional eye to evaluate our incredible publishing lists – both new titles and our unparalleled backlist – to discover books that are worthy of dramatic portrayal. This is another example of HarperCollins’ continuing effort to create additional opportunities for our authors by introducing them to new audiences."
Fox Television Studios executive vice president, scripted programming David Madden added, "We are delighted to be working with such a wonderful stable of talented authors. And it's especially thrilling to get a chance to be in business with Lisa Scottoline. The admirers of her work are worldwide and extremely devoted, and we look forward to developing her ‘Rosato law firm’ novels for screens everywhere, from living rooms to mobile phones and anyplace where thriller fans can watch Lisa's characters come to life."
