James Patterson’s “Private” To Make Jump To TV
James Patterson has struck a deal with Sonar Entertainment to develop his Private series as a television show. Screenwriter John McLaughlin is to write the two-hour premiere. Patterson will serve as executive producer on the show.
“My ultimate goal is to tell stories in television that fans love and want to come back to again and again. Television is the ideal medium to deliver that type of entertainment,” said Patterson. “Sonar represents the kind of collaborative television partner I want with creative vision and strong emphasis on innovative sales and marketing.”
At one point in 2009, Twentieth Century Fox and Imagine TV were trying to develop the series into a series for CBS, but it was not to be. However, Sonar’s CEO Stewart Till believes the show has much more potential than it did three years ago.
“In 2009, ‘Private’ was still an unknown quantity,” he said.
“In 2012 we are able to build on the tremendous proven success of the book series on a worldwide level. In addition, Sonar’s approach to the marketplace is global. We are not wholly dependent on a US network. We see this as a property that will have great appeal in markets in every part of the world.”
Patterson’s 220 books have made over $3 billion worldwide. He also holds several Guinness World Records such as most entries on the New York Times Bestseller List.