Big Light Productions options 29 Seconds
October 16, 2023
The rights to hit novel 29 Seconds, written by ‘Master of the up-all-night thriller’ T.M. Logan, have been snapped up by Big Light Productions. The Leonardo producer, founded by award-winning writer and producer Frank Spotnitz (Devils, Medici, The Man in the High Castle, The X-Files), will develop the thriller into a limited drama series, as part of their first look deal with Tomorrow Studios, an ITV Studios partner.
The series, with the drama working title One Name, will be written by the award-winning Sara Collins, the author, creator and screenwriter of ITV’s The Confessions of Frannie Langton. Frank Spotnitz and Elizabeth Kesses from EJK Productions will executive produce, along with Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements from Tomorrow Studios (One Piece, Physical). Big Light Productions will be taking One Name to MIPCOM for pre-sales, with Spotnitz also speaking at the market as part of the Producers’ Hub.
29 Seconds, T.M. Logan’s second novel, was published by Bonnier Zaffre in 2018. The best-selling and award-winning author’s books have enjoyed enormous success, with his novels selling over two million copies globally. Two of his novels have already been adapted as dramas, The Holiday and The Catch.
Gritty, suspenseful and full of unpredictable twists, One Name is an adrenaline fuelled psychological revenge thriller that asks – if you were given the opportunity to have one person disappear from your life forever without repercussions, would you take it? This is the very decision that lecturer and single mum Sarah has to make.
A lecturer at a top university, Sarah loves her job inspiring young people and she’s built a comfortable home for her family. But her intolerable and obsessive boss is making her life hell. Faced with a decision to leave and uproot her family, or continue to rebuff his persistent sexual advances Sarah feels trapped, until an unexpected encounter with a powerful and dangerous man ends with her being owed a favour that could fix her problems forever. He offers her a once-in-a-lifetime deal that will make all her problems disappear. No consequences. No comeback. No chance of being found out. A life-altering 29 second phone call…does she make a deal with the devil to free herself? And is it really that easy, or has Sarah put everything and everyone she loves in jeopardy?
Telling the story from the unique double perspective of the harasser and his victim, One Name is a character-driven drama that explores the collateral damage and fallout of one woman’s decision in the face of abuse.
Screenwriter Sara Collins said: “I am so excited about this adaptation, which brings up big questions about power, consent and retribution in a dark academic setting. But what really draws me to it is the woman at its heart, who is suspended between two rotten alternatives with no way out. There are shades of Patricia Highsmith in her dilemma, with so much delicious potential for taking her on a journey that will stretch her moral code and sense of self. That’s exactly the kind of story I’m interested in writing and I look forward to working with Big Light to bring this one to the screen.”
Frank Spotnitz, Executive Producer and CEO of Big Light Productions, said: “T.M. Logan is famed for his seriously addictive storytelling and gritty narratives that have audiences hooked worldwide, and 29 Seconds is no exception. It has three key things in abundance that make it perfect for an adaptation to a television drama – a sensational story, a strong IP with global appeal, and of course, it is hugely entertaining. Working together with the extremely talented Sara Collins and our producing partners Elizabeth Kesses and Tomorrow Studios to adapt this thrilling piece of storytelling is incredibly exciting, and we look forward to bringing this development project to MIPCOM.”
Elizabeth Kesses said: “T.M. Logan novels are a gift for TV with propulsive storylines and gripping plot twists. The theme of sexual harassment in the workplace makes 29 Seconds such a unique thriller. Big Light are great partners with a real focus on excellence in writing that puts story at the heart of TV production.”
One Name will be produced by Big Light Productions and Tomorrow Studios, written by Sara Collins and executive produced by Big Light’s Frank Spotnitz and Elizabeth Kesses of EJK Productions alongside Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements of Tomorrow Studios. The optioning deal was brokered with Sheila David of Catapult Rights on behalf of Darley Anderson and Associates, Elizabeth Kesses and Chris Sutherland for Big Light Productions. T.M. Logan released 29 Seconds in 2018, which was published by Bonnier Zaffre.
Big Light Productions will be taking One Name to MIPCOM for pre-sales. Frank Spotnitz will also be speaking at the market as part of the Producers’ Hub in a panel entitled A QUESTION OF SURVIVAL – TALENTS IN CRISIS on Weds 18th October at 15:15 – 15:45 in the Seaview Producers’ Hub: R9.
The adaptation of 29 Seconds further expands Big Light’s diverse slate of original content. Celebrating their 10th anniversary, over the past decade Big Light Productions has created expansive and compelling worlds and character driven dramas including the Emmy award-winning The Man in the High Castle, Medici: The Magnificent, Medici: Masters of Florence, Ransom, The Indian Detective and Leonardo, and scripted podcast Radioman, starring Game of Thrones’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, working with a multitude of writers including Steve Thompson (Sherlock, Vienna Blood), Nicholas Meyer (Star Trek, The Human Stain), and James Dormer (Strike Back, Beowulf)