Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s production company named Stolen Picture will be adapting Ben Aaronovitch’s RIVERS OF LONDON. The series follows Peter Grant, a police constable and a magician’s apprentice who solves crimes around London. Seems like it is part Harry Potter, part Sherlock Holmes. For example, in the first book, Grant is on the case of a murder, who receives information from a ghostly eyewitness to the crime. The tale turns into a rather awful bloodbath, full of gods and goddesses, and an ancient evil which might soon be released. The first book will become the first season of the show.
In a recent interview with Deadline, Frost said he read the book while on holiday a few years back. “Suddenly we were in a position where there’s this book that I loved and it became available, more or less. I was chuffed to bits that I could get the rights to make it into a TV show. Everyone wants to potentially find the next Game of Thrones and the chance to turn RIVERS OF LONDON into an eight-hour movie and hopefully find someone who will financially back that is a real draw.”
Apparently, the book has been through many development processes in the past but the book’s author Aaronovitch is thrilled to work with Stolen Picture on this new endeavor. “I’m working with creators and I know these people don’t like bullocks. There will be creative conflicts; where external forces force us to make compromises but I know that the starting point is that we won’t make those compromises unless we have to. Simon and Nick are tremendous nerds and I don’t have to explain things to them about magic, they just get it.”
Aaronovitch will be an excecutive producer alongside Pegg, Frost, and Miles Ketley (Stolen Picture). Pegg believes that is essential to work closely with the author to develop the story in order to stay faithful to the book. The team is currently in the beginning stages of the development process.
To pigeon-hole myself, I am a big fan of Pegg and Frost. Basically, anything they touch, I’ll watch. So obviously, I will be waiting patiently for this to come to fruition. What are your thoughts?
Until next time my ghouls,
Madame Revenant
