Deadline is reporting that Apple has given the green light to Are You Sleeping, a thriller project from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, which has Oscar winner Octavia Spencer (The Help, Hidden Figures) attached to star.
Created by Nichelle Tramble Spellman (The Good Wife, Justified) and based upon Kathleen Barber’s novel, Are You Sleeping is said to provide “a unique glimpse into America’s obsession with true-crime podcasts and challenges its viewers to consider the consequences when the pursuit of justice is placed on a public stage.”
The Amazon description for the book reads:
Josie Buhrman has spent the last ten years trying to escape her family’s reputation and with good reason. After her father’s murder thirteen years prior, her mother ran away to join a cult and her twin sister Lanie, once Josie’s closest friend and confidant, betrayed her in an unimaginable way. Now, Josie has finally put down roots in New York, settling into domestic life with her partner Caleb, and that’s where she intends to stay.
The only problem is that she has lied to Caleb about every detail of her past–starting with her last name.
When investigative reporter Poppy Parnell sets off a media firestorm with a mega-hit podcast that reopens the long-closed case of Josie’s father’s murder, Josie’s world begins to unravel. Meanwhile, the unexpected death of Josie’s long-absent mother forces her to return to her Midwestern hometown where she must confront the demons from her past–and the lies on which she has staked her future.
Spencer, Witherspoon and Tramble Spellman are set to serve as executive producers on the series alongside Lauren Neustadter, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and Kristen Campo. It is the second project that Apple has picked up from Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine after the as-yet-untitled morning show drama with Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston attached to star.
Originally published January 8, 2018. Updated January 7, 2018.
