Universal Cable Productions and Paramount Television will be developing a television adaptation of Robert Heinlein’s 1961 science-fiction classic. Executive producing the series will be handled by James Vanderbilt (The Amazing Spider-Man), Brad Fischer (White House Down) and William Sherak (Bangkok Dangerous) of Mythology Entertainment (with Julia Gunn acting as co-producer).
Also producing will be Scott Rudin (Inside Llewyn Davis), Eli Bush (The Newsroom) and Garrett Basch (The Cold Light of Day) of Scott Rudin Productions, as well as Joe Vecchio (Why I Left The Democratic Party) of Vecchio Entertainment.
What is ‘Stranger'?
‘Stranger in a Strange Land’ is the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human being raised on Mars who returns to his birth planet, a post-World War III world ruled by religious organizations. The novel dabbles heavily in themes relating to belief, mortality and sex, the latter having connections to the then prevalent movement for 'free love', which lead to controversy when the book was released.
Despite this, receiving divisive reviews upon release, and being banned from schools, 'Stranger' was the first science fiction novel to make it on the New York Times bestseller list, as well as win the 1962 Hugo Award for Best Novel. In 2012, the US Library of Congress dubbed it as being one of the 88 in the 'Books that Shaped America' exhibition.
Stranger is a priority project
'Paramount TV is excited to have the opportunity to adapt Robert Heinlein’s seminal work of science fiction,' said Paramount TV president Amy Powell, who had read the novel back in college and stating that Syfy’s mastery of highly imaginative programming made them an perfect home for the series. Echoing the sentiment was Bonnie Hammer, NBCUniversal's Cable Entertainment chairman, who said that the book was one his favourites, and that, 'The story is timeless and resonates more than ever in today’s world. As a fan, I can’t wait to see it come to life as a world-class television event.'