“Normal People” producer Element Pictures is set to adapt “Bellies,” the debut novel from Nicola Dinan.
Dinan will work with the Fremantle-owned company to adapt the novel into an eight-episode series. The book will be released in the U.K. and U.S. next summer.
According to the logline, “Bellies” tells the story of “two queer students, Tom and Ming, who fall in love at university and find their relationship dramatically upended when Ming comes out as trans and decides to transition.”
Fremantle will rep international sales on the project alongside De Maio Entertainment, while Element Pictures’ Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe and Chelsea Morgan Hoffmann will executive produce alongside Dinan.
“We were immediately absorbed and transported by the love story between Tom and Ming – and by Nicola’s writing, which is in equal parts hilarious and heart-breaking,” said Guiney, Lowe and Hoffmann. “We think the world is hungry for a love story like theirs – that authentically allows for the space and complexity of their changing dynamic, both as Ming transitions but also as the two of them grow into adulthood – while still honouring the excitement and intensity of first love. We are delighted to bring their story to the screen and couldn’t be happier that Nicola is adapting herself.”
Dinan added: “People have told me that ‘Bellies’ has given them a new perspective. I think that’s really special and reminds me that fiction can enlighten in ways that hard facts often can’t. At its heart, ‘Bellies’ isn’t about identity. Rather, it’s about two young people struggling to find their place in world, all while learning how to care for each other and those around them. I’m so happy to be working with Element, and to have the opportunity to continue to explore these characters and share them with the world onscreen.”
Lesley Thorne of Aitken Alexander Associates Ltd brokered the deal with Mark Byrne for Element Pictures.