The Gotham Group to produce the series with eOne

From bestselling author of blockbuster thrillers In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Woman in Cabin 10, The Lying Game is the latest novel from literary sensation Ruth Ware 

TORONTO – November 27, 2017 – Global studio Entertainment One (eOne) and The Gotham Group (Gotham), one of the leading management and productions firms in Hollywood, will produce a television series based on New York Times bestselling author Ruth Ware’s The Lying Game. 

"I was bowled over by eOne's passionate pitch for The Lying Game. Together with Gotham Group, I'm convinced that my characters and their story could not be in better hands and thrilled to be working with them," said Ruth Ware.

The Lying Game debuted in the third spot on The New York Times Best Sellers list and was Library Reads number one Pick for July 2017. The novel was also selected as one of Amazon’s Best Mysteries & Thrillers of 2017, featured in The New York Post’s Summer Must List and chosen by actor and producer Reese Witherspoon as part of her Instagram-based book club, #RWBookClub.

“The Lying Game is an edge-of-your-seat thriller that continues Ruth’s cinematic storytelling with a swift pace and tension-raising style that makes it impossible to put down,” said Pancho Mansfield, eOne’s President, Global Scripted Programming, Television. “We are thrilled to partner with Ruth and Gotham to bring this captivating story, which captured the imagination of fans around the world, to the screen.”

“Ruth is a master storyteller,” said Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, founder and CEO of The Gotham Group. “Everything she writes feels so cinematic and the characters are so rich. We are honored and thrilled she is entrusting us with another one of her edge-of-your-seat thrillers.  eOne’s Carolyn Newman pursued this book with incredible enthusiasm and commitment. We are excited to partner with her, Pancho, Polly and the entire eOne team to bring this story to viewers everywhere.”  

eOne acquired worldwide rights from Gotham, which has set up Ware’s In a Dark, Dark Wood at New Line with Reese Witherspoon attached and The Woman in Cabin 10 at CBS Films.  Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell and Lindsay Williams will executive produce the television series.  Polly Williams, VP, Scripted Development and Carolyn Newman, SVP, Scripted Programming, will oversee the project for eOne.  The Lying Game is being published by Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books. 

The Lying Game relishes in Ware’s signature style of psychological suspense and complex, fully realized characters.  The novel start with a text saying “I need you.” Three small words that change everything. Fatima, Thea, and Isa—receive the message they had always hoped would never come, from the fourth in their formerly inseparable clique, Kate. The four friends first met at Salten House boarding school, where they quickly bonded over The Lying Game, a risky contest that involved tricking fellow boarders and faculty with their lies. But the game had consequences, and the girls were eventually expelled after Kate’s dad, their beloved art teacher, mysteriously disappeared. 

The North London-based Ware was recently announced as the winner of Readerlink’s ‘Rising Star Author’ award for 2017. Ware’s debut thriller In a Dark, Dark Wood and the follow-up The Woman in Cabin 10 were both The Sunday Times top ten bestsellers in the UK, and The New York Times top ten bestsellers in the US. 

Ware is represented by Shari Smiley at The Gotham Group and by Eve White of Eve White Literary Agency in the UK. 

About The Gotham Group

The Gotham Group is a management and production company representing some of the most creative minds in Hollywood. Its founder and CEO Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and The Gotham Group, cited in Variety’s 10 Producers to Watch series, have been producers on such hits as The Spiderwick Chronicles and The  Maze Runner franchise. Gotham also produced Kodachrome with Jason Sudeikis, Elizabeth Olsen, and Ed Harris, which premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival; Stephanie, directed by Akiva Goldsman; The Big Game, which chronicles the phenomenon of daily fantasy sports; and Train Man, starring Julia Roberts as the lawyer defending Darius McCollum, the New Yorker who became notorious for driving subway trains illegally. On the television side, Gotham has Star Trek’s Zachary Quinto set to star in and executive produce Biopunk and is developing Randi Zuckerberg’s New York Times bestselling book Dot Complicated: Untangling Our Wired Lives as a series.

Gotham has optioned film rights to three of this past summer’s hottest book titles.  In addition to Ruth Ware’s The Lying Game, those works include Janelle Brown’s critically acclaimed suspense thriller Watch Me Disappear, and Robyn Harding’s bestseller The Party. Gotham has set up Ruth Ware’s The Woman in Cabin 10 with Reese Witherspoon attached at New Line and In a Dark, Dark Wood at CBS Films.   

About Entertainment One

Entertainment One Ltd. (LSE:ETO) is a global independent studio that specializes in the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution and sales of entertainment content. The Company’s diversified expertise spans across film, television and music production and sales, family programming, merchandising and licensing, and digital content. Through its global reach and expansive scale, powered by deep local market knowledge, the Company delivers the best content to the world.

Entertainment One’s robust network includes film and television studio The Mark Gordon Company; newly-launched MAKEREADY with Brad Weston; content creation venture Amblin Partners with Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks Studios, Participant Media, and Reliance Entertainment; leading feature film production and global sales company Sierra Pictures; unscripted television production company Renegade 83; world-class music labels Dualtone Music Group and Last Gang; and award-winning digital agency Secret Location.

The Company’s rights library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 100,000 hours of film and television content and approximately 40,000 music tracks.

###

For media inquiries, please contact:

For Entertainment One:

Owen McCorquodale

416 309 4166

omccorquodale@entonegroup.com

For The Gotham Group:

Maggie Begley/MBC   310.390.0101; Maggie@mbcprinc.com