Get ready for more bittersweet, angsty, and hilarious stories about surviving high school. According to Deadline, YouTube has given a pilot order to “The Edge of Seventeen,” a half-hour comedy based on Kelly Fremon Craig’s 2016 directorial debut. Starring Hailee Steinfeld, the movie sees a sarcastic, lonely high school student hitting an emotional breaking point when her best friend starts dating her brother.
Hailing from STX Entertainment, the YouTube pilot is not a straightforward remake or sequel to the Steinfeld-starrer. Instead, “it will tell new stories borrowing from the tone of the film and its commitment to capturing the teen age truthfully.” Like the movie, it will center on a high schooler and her best friend and their adolescent travails.
“Atypical” writer-producer Annabel Oakes will pen and direct the “Edge of Seventeen” pilot, and Fremon Craig will executive produce. Filming is expected to kick off in January.
“Annabel is an extraordinary writer with a voice like nobody else’s. She’s created a new set of characters so full of truth, humor, and specificity, I’ve fallen completely in love with them,” said Fremon Craig. “For all of the reasons she makes an exceptional writer, she will make an exceptional director. I couldn’t be more thrilled to support her talent and help her bring this to life.”
“Annabel took inspiration from ‘The Edge Of Seventeen’ and wrote an incredible script that is wholly her own, so when Kelly came to us about Annabel directing the pilot, it just made sense,” revealed Dustin Davis, Head of Comedy, YouTube Originals. “We’re excited to have Annabel execute her vision from start to finish.”
Oakes previously wrote and directed short film “All Exchanges Final.” Her TV writing credits include “Downward Dog,” “Sirens,” and “Awkward.”
A couple weeks ago news broke that a film adaptation of the Judy Blume classic “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” is finally in the works — and Fremon Craig would be writing and directing the pic. An adaptation of memoir “Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me” and the screenplay for a feature-length animated Scooby-Doo movie are among her upcoming projects. Fremon Craig also co-wrote the Steinfeld-led “Transformers” spinoff, “Bumblebee.” It hits theaters December 21.
