It was October, and I was shopping with my daughter at the grocery store when my film & TV agent Matt called to tell me that Hulu was going to make us a deal—The One That Got Away with Murder was officially getting adapted for television! It felt like one of those Hollywood ‘moments’ that is special and big and surreal, something I’d dreamed of happening from the day I moved to Los Angeles back in 2010. Back then, I’d wanted to go to film school to be a screenwriter and while that dream didn’t quite pan out in the exact way I’d hoped it would (a story for another time,) I couldn’t be any happier to be on the path I’m on now.
Here’s how the Hulu deal sort of happened, if you’re curious:
After my book was published, my literary agents sent it to a few film agents, all of whom passed. I think I got notes along the lines of “I can’t see a way to sell this” and “I can’t see a way to break it out.” I was a little (okay a LOT) dejected, but I thought to myself that perhaps the next book would be the one that lands me book-to-film representation. Because as a writer, the next project is always your project filled with hope. And, more is more. It increases your chances, anyways.
Then, about six months or so after Murder published, I remember getting an email from Stephen and Kristin, my agents at InkWell, asking if it’d be okay to send the book to a film agent named Matt Snow at Paradigm. I said yes, of course. Matt ended up reading Murder on his flight home to LA and loved it, and had a vision for how it could end up on the small screen. Next, I met with an established, impressive writing team, Tawnya Bhattacharya and Ali Laventhol, over zoom, to discuss the book and get to know each other. It was a fantastic meeting. I remember feeling so elated. After that, they got to work on creating pitch pages for how they saw the story as a series with multiple seasons. I was able to read these pages and thought they were brilliant! They really ran with the material and I just loved it. Tawnya and Ali then took this pitch out to production companies, and Gaumont, who has produced Hannibal, Hemlock Grove, Lupin, and Narcos, wanted to option the material! My book was officially ‘optioned’ that spring, so that means we had a production company on board. At that point, we negotiated the option agreement, which is also when you negotiate your purchase price agreement, should the project move forward into production. About five months later, and Matt told me Tawnya and Ali were pitching to distributors, and Hulu officially wanted in. Wild.
The next steps involve Tawnya and Ali working on the pilot script, I’m told. Exciting things are afoot, and I feel so lucky.
In addition to good timing and luck—the ingredients to a lot of things in publishing and entertainment—I do think a few things helped make this deal a reality:
Having a well-connected literary agent: if you’re an author, your literary agent is often how you are pitched or introduced to book-to-film agents. Having an agent who cultivates meaningful connections in the entertainment industry is so important. I think having a literary agent who has an organic interest in film and TV also helps. They want to make the dream happen just as much as you do! A track record for these kinds of deals certainly doesn’t hurt, either. I think if anything, it demonstrates they have an eye for cinematic material, and they know what to send to whom, and when to send it.
Having a book-to-film agent who strategically packages the material: Matt saw this book as a TV show and wanted to attach at least one senior level writer to get momentum going. So getting TWO established and accomplished writers on board was so key to this all happening. Having Tawnya and Ali at the helm is a pretty great vote of confidence. They know how to sell—and run—shows.
A project that is easily ‘pitchable’: the source material, in my case, my book! can be pitched a few different ways, but one of my favorites is “two brothers with a dead ex-girlfriend problem.” Having some sort of short hook for the work is important and can be used as a jumping off point for the logline, too. I love the logline that they used in the Deadline article.
As for my involvement in the show, I will be a consultant and co-executive producer when this gets greenlit to series (let’s manifest that, alright?). Getting to this point in the process is certainly a HUGE step and I think we can get all the way there…
The One That Got Away with Murder is now available in paperback, audiobook, and ebook formats anywhere you buy books, too, so that you can fancast the story before the actors are officially announced… that will be something, won’t it?