swingtime

Steve Coogan’s Baby Cow film and TV production company has acquired Zadie Smith’s new novel “Swing Time” to be adapted for television.

Published just 2 days ago, on November 15, 2016, “Swing Time,” described as an ambitious cross-continental novel that moves from North West London to West Africa, follows “two brown girls” who dream of being dancers; but only one has the talent.

Further, courtesy of Amazon.com”s review of the book… “The other has ideas: about rhythm and time, about black bodies and black music, what constitutes a tribe, or makes a person truly free. It’s a close but complicated childhood friendship that ends abruptly in their early twenties, never to be revisited, but never quite forgotten, either. One makes it to the chorus line but struggles with adult life, while her friend leaves the old neighborhood behind, traveling the world as an assistant to a famous singer, observing close up how the one percent live. But when she develops grand philanthropic ambitions, the story moves from London to West Africa, where diaspora tourists travel back in time to find their roots, young men risk their lives to escape into a different future, the women dance —the same twists, the same shakes—and the origins of a profound inequality are not a matter of distant history, but a present dance to the music of time.”

Zadie Smith will adapt the book herself, along with her author husband Nick Laird.

Christine Langan, CEO of Steve Coogan’s Baby Cow shingle, says, “Zadie Smith is the voice of a generation and ‘Swing Time’ is a thrillingly ambitious story of friendship, rivalry and fame. We’re delighted and honored at Baby Cow to be developing such a unique project and we can’t wait to share it with TV audiences everywhere.”

This will be the 3rd Zadie Smith novel to be adapted for the screen; “White Teeth” became a TV series in 2002; “On Beauty” is being developed into a feature film by Kasi Lemmons; and, most recently, “NW” has been adapted by the BBC, premiering this month, starring Nikki Amuka-Bird.

Pick up a copy of “Swing Time” here.

The acquisition of “Swing Time” was handled by Katie Haines at The Agency in association with Georgia Garrett at Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd.