Deadpan Pictures and StudioCanal are building a live-action TV version of Katie Kirby’s best-selling The Extremely Embarrassing Life of Lottie Brooks book series. Josie Long, who has worked on Skins, is teaming up with playwright and screenwriter Holly Phillips, whose credits include The Athena, Get Even and Dance Academy, to turn the books into a show.
Deadpan Pictures, the studio behind Moone Boy and Video Nasty, has Ailish McElmeel attached as producer on the project. StudioCanal is overseeing the production through M-K Kennedy and Paul Gilbert. Sarah Reese Geffroy is the overseer for StudioCanal Stories, which struck the deal for the book rights. StudioCanal Kids & Family will manage worldwide merchandising and licensing.
Lottie Brooks, Meet Bridget Jones
The illustrated Kirby book series centers on the titular protagonist, who is 11 and three-quarters years old, and her struggles with the awkward transition to secondary school. McElmeel describes the series as a “pre-teen Bridget Jones.”.
The Books Behind the Show
The nine-book series was published by Puffin, and it has been translated into over 30 languages and has sold more than 3 million copies around the world.
The Creative Team
Long’s credits include Skins, while Phillips’ credits include The Athena, Get Even and Dance Academy.
Deadpan Pictures is the production company behind Moone Boy and Video Nasty, and McElmeel works for it.
Deadpan’s Credits
Deadpan Pictures has credits including Moone Boy and Video Nasty.
StudioCanal’s Book History
The company behind Paddington, a franchise that has become its most notable achievement, relies on literary adaptations for much of its output.
The studio has adapted the BBC series War of the Worlds for television, and it follows that with a limited series called How to Stop Time, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch and draws from the novel by Matt Haig.
| Project | Source Material |
|---|---|
| Lottie Brooks | Katie Kirby’s books |
| How to Stop Time | Matt Haig’s novel |
What This Means for Fans
This news about the adaptation amounts to an endorsement of Kirby’s writing, and it places his books before readers who may not have encountered them on their own.
The Bottom Line
For years, StudioCanal has built its name on bringing books to the screen, and Lottie Brooks fits right into that history.
Deadpan Pictures’ creative instincts and StudioCanal’ has the distribution power to get the show in front of audiences globally, which gives it a real shot at success. The match between the show’s aims and its delivery is unusual, and the partnership appears to be paying off.
The books have already done the heavy lifting.
Source material: “StudioCanal, Deadpan Pictures Adapting ‘Lottie Brooks’ Book Series,” The Hollywood Reporter.
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