Charlize Theron’s name isn’t exactly synonymous with TV (though the Oscar-winning actress can boast an unforgettable guest arc sending up the manic pixie dream girl trope in Arrested Development). But Theron’s production company, Denver & Delilah Productions, which helped bring the star vehicles Monster, Young Adult, and the upcoming adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places to theaters, has set its sights on the small screen.
Along with new hire Laverne McKinnon as the head of scripted television division, Denver & Delilah will develop seven series with Universal Cable Productions, many with female protagonists.
Among the septet of new projects are adaptations of Julie Halpern’s YA depression novel Get Well Soon (to be written by Erika Cervantes) and Gina Frangello’s healing-through-travel tale A Life in Men. There is also a NBC rom-com called Diblings by Andrea Abbate about a “young, uptight businessman and a rebellious, purple-haired tattoo artist who will never be together but can’t stand being apart,” as well as a Bravo drama about the lives of billionaire CEOS from the point-of-vew of their assistants.
Theron demonstrates her eclectic taste in three other projects: an action-thriller for Amazon called Pandora, in which a female ex-CIA agent releases “worldwide ‘sleepers’ who are the personification of all evils”; an adventure-drama called Mythos for USA Networks produced by Anna Halberg in which mysterious forces fight for the fate of humanity; and a blind script deal with Batwoman comic-book writer Greg Rucka.
“I had the pleasure of working with Charlize recently and was determined to keep working with her once I joined Universal Cable Productions,” said UCP Executive Vice President of Development Dawn Olmstead. “Charlize, [Denver & Delilah partners] Beth [Kono], and AJ [Dix]’s taste in material is stellar. I’m thrilled that Laverne has joined forces with them. Together they are rapidly growing an impressive slate of thought-provoking, stand-out shows.”
[via THR]
