Sony Pictures Television-backed Eleventh Hour Films (“Alex Rider,” “The Magpie Murders”) have revealed two more projects in development and made a senior creative hire.
“The Man In The Back Seat” (working title) a series development from novelist David Peace (“Red Riding”) and actor-writer, Ted Reilly, is the company’s first foray into the original true-crime genre. Based on events documented in the book “The Long Silence” by Paul Stickler, who serves as a consultant, the series will follow the 1962 criminal case, where after the longest trial in British legal history, James Hanratty was executed for the murder of Michael Gregsten, and the rape and attempted murder of Valerie Storie.
Additionally, Eleventh Hour have optioned author and journalist Celia Walden’s thriller “Payday” for development into a series. “Payday” is a female-driven thriller set in BWL, a property brokerage firm that sells properties to developers for millions where the protagonists decide to destroy the sexist golden boy of the firm.
Eleventh Hour Films has also hired Christopher Kam, previously director of scripted development at NBCUniversal International Studios, as head of development.
“With five separate programmes on the go all at different stages of production – from ‘Alex Rider’ season 3, ‘The Killing Kind,’ ‘Moonflower Murders,’ to ‘Rebus’ and ‘Robyn Hood’ – we’re exceptionally proud to have started 2023 firing on all cylinders. It’s wonderful to welcome Christopher to the EHF team, and add future titles to our development pipeline: ‘The Man In The Back Seat’ and ‘Payday’ couldn’t be more different as projects, but they exemplify exactly what we love to do at Eleventh Hour Films, which is to tell distinctive stories which audiences love to watch,” chief executive Jill Green, creative director Paula Cuddy and executive producer and head of talent Eve Gutierrez, said in a joint statement.