Amy Schumer is working on a thriller. The Peabody and Emmy-winning stand-up, actress, screenwriter, director, and producer has boarded a project about renegade nuns. She’s signed on to exec produce an adaptation of Alena Dillon’s 2020 novel “Mercy House” alongside “Good Wife” alumna Corinne Brinkerhoff for CBS All Access. Deadline broke the news.
Set to be written by Brinkerhoff, the project “follows renegade protagonist Sister Evelyn and her fellow nuns as they preside over a safe haven for the abused and abandoned,” the source details. “After Evelyn receives word that Mercy House will be investigated by Bishop Hawkins, a man with whom she shares a dark history, the nuns must conceal practices forbidden by the Catholic Church in order to protect everything they’ve built. Evelyn goes to great lengths to defend all that she loves. She is bolstered by the other nuns and the diverse residents of the shelter, whose differences are outweighed by what unites them: they’ve all been broken by men but are determined to rebuild. Amidst her fight, Evelyn discovers the extraordinary power of mercy and the grace it grants, not just to those who receive it, but to those strong enough to bestow it.”
Last seen in her Netflix special “Amy Schumer: Growing” and on the big screen in “I Feel Pretty,” Schumer described “Mercy House” as a “life-altering” book.
Brinkerhoff, whose credits include “Jane the Virgin” and “Elementary,” added, “I fell in love with this story about resilience, redemption, and the collective power of strong women — especially the singular Sister Evelyn, a reluctant hero whose moving journey exemplifies the bold, socially relevant, female-driven stories I want to tell.
Dillon praised Schumer and Brinkerhoff as “brilliant and influential creators.”
Another story about nuns will be coming stateside soon. First Look Media’s streaming service, Topic, will drop award-winning Australian drama “Lambs of God” on May 7. Jessica Barden (“The End of the F**king World), Essie Davis (“The Babadook”), and Ann Dowd (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) star in the award-winning gothic drama about nuns living in a rundown monastery on a remote island.
