After a bidding war, Universal Global Television and Patrick McManus’ Littleton Road Productions have won the rights to Annie Jacobsen’s latest novel, “Biological Warfare: Scenarios,” which is released today. The TV version will be available to buyers in the coming weeks.
“Annie has spent her career reporting very clearly. I can’t stop reading her words. I started reading in the morning and by the evening I was begging UGT to let me talk about it,” McManus told Variety. “A story that begins with an ordinary day leads to the end of the world six days later. But it is ultimately not a nihilistic show. Yes, there is the dark excitement and exploration of apocalypse. But alongside that, there is also a story of the instinct to protect and rebuild. A celebration of Tee and her family’s desire to try again in hopes of success this time. The question at the heart and soul of our series is not: Can we survive? Who will it be?
He continued, “I’m honored that Annie has agreed to entrust this film to me, and I look forward to working with her to bring this film to life.”
McManus and Jacobsen will serve as co-creators and executive producers of the series. Kelly Funke will also serve as executive producer.
McManus produced The Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy for Peacock last year and is currently working on a second installment focusing on Richard Ramirez (The Night Stalker). Both are based on general production contracts with UGT. Additionally, UGT is also developing an adaptation of John Grisham’s “The Boys From Biloxi.”
Jacobsen is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, journalist, and bestselling author. Her book Nuclear War: Scenarios, published in 2024, is an international bestseller and is being adapted into a dramatization by Legendary Entertainment with Denis Villeneuve set to direct.
Mr. McManus is repped by CAA and Game Plan Media. Jacobsen is repped by CAA, Circle M+P and Myman Greenspan Fineman Fox Rosenberg & Light.
