Amazon Studios has given the green light to three YA pilots from women. As Deadline reports, the projects are “Panic” from Lauren Oliver, “The Wilds” from Sarah Streicher, and “College” from Marja-Lewis Ryan.
“We’re excited to explore the point of view of Lauren, Sarah, and Marja, who are fresh and distinct voices in television,” said Nick Hall, Head of Alternative Scripted Programming, Amazon Studios. “They are creating content for a younger audience that will also transcend cross-generationally, and we look forward to bringing this new perspective to our Prime audience.”
Based on Oliver’s bestseller of the same name, “Panic” is set in a small, stagnant town where graduating seniors compete every year for a way out and “life-changing money” in an illegal, highly dangerous game. “Anonymous judges force the players through a series of challenges that will compel them to confront their deepest fears — and upend their ideas of who they are, who to trust, and who they might become,” the source details. “This year, 47 players will compete for the biggest pot ever. All of them will be changed. Only one will win.”
Oliver wrote and created the pilot. She’s also among the executive producers.
The “Delirium” trilogy, “Broken Things,” and “Rooms” are among Oliver’s books. While most of her work is considered YA literature, she also writes books for adults and young readers. Last year an adaptation of Oliver’s novel “Before I Fall” was released. Directed by Ry Russo-Young, the pic stars “Set It Up’s” Zoey Deutch as a high schooler who continues to re-live the day of her death.
Penned by Streicher, “The Wilds” is about a collection of very different teen girls stuck on an island. Making matters even worse, the young women are — unbeknownst to them — the subjects of a large-scale social experiment. “Part survival drama, part [dystopian] slumber party, ‘The Wilds’ explores the past and present struggles of these young women, offering up a vivid portrayal of what it means to grow up female in our time — whether you are lost in the wilderness or not,” Deadline summarizes.
Jamie Tarses and ABC Signature are producing. Streicher is serving as EP alongside Tarses’ Fanfare and Dylan Clark Productions.
Streicher is a staff writer on “Daredevil” and has worked on “Drunk History” and “Mixology.” She also wrote and directed the 2011 short “Over-the-Hill Slumber Party,” about two over-40 friends on a sleepover.
Ryan-created “College” will follow six roommates “as they hook up, mess up, and grow up on their own terms” in the world of higher education.
Jill Soloway and Andrea Sperling (“Transparent”) are among the project’s EPs.
Ryan has been tapped to showrun the “L Word” sequel at Showtime. She made her directorial debut this year with Netflix’s heroin drama “Six Balloons,” starring Abbi Jacobson. The multi-hyphenate previously penned the script for “The Four-Faced Liar,” an award-winning adaptation of one of her plays. Up next for Ryan is “Liked,” a social media-age spin on “Cyrano de Bergerac” she wrote and directed. The film is currently in post-production.
Amazon’s other TV projects in development include a “League of Their Own” reboot from Jacobson and a Lorena Bobbitt docuseries exec produced by “Get Out” writer-director Jordan Peele.
