Shadow and Act has confirmed that in a competitive situation, Disney’s Onyx Collective has landed the limited series The Plot from Endeavor Content. Multiple streaming platforms sought the project, which will see Mahershala Ali star. It also has him attached as an executive producer. The eight-episode limited series will stream on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories.
It adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Korelitz’s You Should Have Known was adapted into HBO’s The Undoing in 2020 starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant.
Abby Ajayi (Inventing Anna) is adapting Korelitz’s novel and is the showrunner and executive produces.
Mimi Valdés and Amatus Karim Ali are also executive producing through their Know Wonder production company. The company recently produced Apple TV+’s Swan Song, which also starred Ali.
Endeavor Content is producing along with Layne Eskridge’s POV and Kristen The Plot is the first project that was taken to market from Eskridge’s producing deal with Endeavor Content.
Here's the description of the series:
The Plot is a gripping cat and mouse story. Struggling author Jake (Ali) is primed to take advantage of any opportunity that might help revive his career. When a once in a lifetime opportunity presents itself, Jake commits an act of literary theft that changes his life irrevocably. Now, someone knows his secret and is threatening him…and we will see just how far Jake will go to protect himself and the life he’s built.
“I was captivated with Hanff Korelitz’s book, ‘The Plot’ and Abby’s distinct point of view reinvents the story in a way that spoke to me and our mission at Onyx Collective. There are so many interesting angles and nuances, that having the creative genius that is Mahershala Ali at the center of this mystery, is just a dream,” stated Tara Duncan, president of Freeform and Onyx Collective. “Kristen and Layne have done a phenomenal job bringing this team together and I could not be more proud to work alongside them and Endeavor Content to bring this incredible series to our global audience.”
“Hollywood is still not greenlighting enough projects with multidimensional Black characters, stories that simply focus on our humanity. The rarity of a straight-to-series order, especially for BIPOC projects, is not lost on us,” said Mimi Valdés, executive producer, Know Wonder. “We are beyond humbled to work with such an amazing team of collaborators to bring this incredible book to life.”
“When Kristen Campo sent me ‘The Plot,’ I devoured it! I’ve been dying to work with Abby Ajayi, and we loved the idea of exploring Jean’s book from the perspective of a Black man, so that we could really debate the themes of authorship, inspiration and who has the right to tell what stories. Mahershala was our dream for the role, and when he and the Know Wonder team signed on, it confirmed that we were building something next level,” said Layne Eskridge, EP, POV Entertainment.
“I’m thrilled to be adapting Jean’s brilliantly compelling and thrilling novel, which hooked me from its opening pages. From the start, I knew that the peerless Mahershala Ali would be the perfect Jake. I’m excited by the nuance, the humanity and the complexity he’ll bring to the role, said Abby Ajayi, EP/showrunner. “Going on this journey with Layne, Kristen and the teams at Know Wonder and Endeavor Content has been a dream. The icing on the cake is finding our home with Tara Duncan at Onyx.”
“When I first read The Plot, I was immediately drawn in by Jean’s ability to balance propulsive storytelling and deep character work, and saw the possibility of a fantastic screen adaptation for a global audience,” said Kristen Campo, EP.
Onyx Collective’s debut project was Questlove’s documentary Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised).
Creatives working with Onyx Collective include Natasha Rothwell, Prentice Penny, Ryan Coogler and Destin Daniel Cretton.
