Deadline is reporting that Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman, executive producers of Justified, have optioned three of Elmore Leonard’s Detroit novels – Unknown Man #89, Pagan Babies and Mr. Paradise – with plans to develop them as a TV series for cable and streaming networks.
According to the site, the series is being written by Top ‘Kip’ Williams (Door in the Floor) and “is envisioned as focusing on one novel each season, with characters occasionally appearing in multiple seasons as they often did in Leonard’s novels.”
The producers are also looking at optioning more of Leonard’s twelve Detroit-set novels, as well as potentially using the material to spawn related but narratively original seasons based upon characters and storylines featured in the books.
Justified was also based on one of Leonard’s short stories, Fire in the Hole, and ran for six seasons on FX between 2010 and 2015.
Originally published September 4, 2017. Updated September 3, 2017.
