BBC AMERICA announced today it will partner with Elisabeth Moss and Annapurna Television on developing the period drama FEVER. Based on Mary Beth Keane's novel of the same name, the limited series is set to star award-winning actress Elisabeth Moss (Handmaid's Tale, Top of the Lake). Moss, who additionally holds the rights to the novel, will also serve as an Executive Producer on the project.
Fever tells the story of the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever who became known as "Typhoid Mary" as she spread typhoid across the burgeoning
METROPOLIS of early twentieth century New York.
Moss acquired the original rights to Keane's book and first sent the material Phil Morrison (Enlightened, Junebug), who signed on to project as director and Executive Produce. Robin Veith (The Expanse, True Blood) is currently set to write the adaptation and will also serve as an Executive Producer alongside Moss, Morrison, and Annapurna's Sue Naegle and Megan Ellison.
"I'm so honored to be working with the incredible team of collaborators we have pulled together with Phil, Robin,
BBC America and Annapurna. I look forward to telling this story about one of the
MOST INFAMOUS women in America, 'Typhoid Mary,' a woman whose true tale has never been told. She was an immigrant in turn of the century New York, a time of huge change and progress in America. She was incredibly unique, stubborn, ambitious and in fierce denial of any wrongdoing until her death where she lived out her days imprisoned on an island just off of the Bronx in NY. She is incredibly complicated, something I seem to enjoy playing," said Moss.
Moss is represented by WME and Ribisi Entertainment Group. Veith is also with WME while Morrison is repped by UTA and Management 360.
About BBC AMERICA
Created in 1998,
BBC America is a
HUB of innovative, culturally contagious programming including the worldwide phenomenon and critical darling Planet Earth II, top-rated science-fiction phenomenon Doctor Who, fan-favorite Orphan Black, groundbreaking unscripted series Top Gear, buzzy and wildly bizarre Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency starring Elijah Wood, as well as the upcoming series Killing Eve from Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Blue Planet II, the next chapter in the epic story of our planet. The influential network has been the launch pad for talent including Ricky Gervais, Gordon Ramsay, and Graham Norton - all adopted as American pop culture icons. A joint venture between BBC Worldwide (the commercial arm of the BBC) and
AMC Networks, BBCA has attracted both critical acclaim and major awards including five Emmy(R) Awards, five Golden Globes(R) and 12 Peabody Awards. The irrepressible network has garnered one of cable's most curious, educated and affluent audiences, with many properties boasting super-fan levels of engagement. Available on cable and satellite TV,
BBC America broadcasts in both standard and high-definition, is available On Demand across all major digital platforms and offers full episodes online at bbcamerica.com.
About ANNAPURNA TELEVISION Annapurna Television, under the leadership of Annapurna Founder Megan Ellison and President of Television Sue Naegle, focuses on bringing Annapurna's singular commitment to smart, innovative, and original programming to the television medium. By amplifying the voices of top creators and filmmakers, the company will produce and develop projects for broadcast, digital, and cable properties. Currently, they are in pre-production on a limited series adaptation of the novel, "Today Will Be Different," by Maria Semple, which has Julia Roberts attached to star, the adult animated series "Amberville," for Amazon, and "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs," a Western anthology written and directed by the Coen Brothers, amongst other projects in development.
About ANNAPURNA Annapurna, founded by Megan Ellison, focuses on creating sophisticated, high-quality content that is critically and commercially conscious while still appealing to a diverse audience. By upholding Ellison's vision to put filmmakers and artists first and preserve their authentic creative voices no matter the genre or medium, in 5 years, the company has garnered a total of 32 Academy Award nominations for their projects, including ZERO DARK THIRTY, JOY, THE MASTER, FOXCATCHER, and THE GRANDMASTER. Ellison is also one of only four honorees ever to receive two Best Picture nominations in the same year, with HER and AMERICAN HUSTLE, both earning nods in 2014. Currently, Annapurna is in post-production on Kathryn Bigelow's DETROIT, which it will release as its first distribution title on August 4, 2017. The company is also in production on Paul Thomas Anderson's untitled new period film starring Daniel Day-Lewis and is developing the film adaptation of Maria Semple's WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE, to be directed by Richard Linklater. Annapurna's most recent projects include Mike Mills' 20TH CENTURY WOMEN, which was nominated for two Golden Globes and earned Mills a Best Original Screenplay Academy Award nomination, as well as SAUSAGE PARTY, WIENER-DOG, and EVERYBODY WANTS SOME, with THE BAD BATCH set for release by Neon in 2017. Bigelow also directed and partnered with Annapurna on the animated short LAST DAYS, about illegal elephant poaching and the ivory trade.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos
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