Sidney Kimmel Entertainment (SKE) has optioned the nonfiction book “Busted: A Tale of Corruption and Betrayal in the City of Brotherly Love,” being developed as an hour-long limited series, SKE and Anonymous announced Wednesday. “Sex and the City’s” Parker is attached to star as one of two leads.
David Frankel (“The Devil Wears Prada,” “Marley & Me,” “Hope Springs,” “Band of Brothers,” “Entourage”) is attached to direct the pilot and exec produce, and Don Ross (“Web Therapy,” “Marley & Me”) is set to write the pilot. The series is based on reporters Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker’s book of the same name, released by Harper Collins in March.The book follows Ruderman and Laker’s successful efforts to uncover a huge police corruption scandal in Philadelphia. Their 10-month series on the scandal was published in 2009 in the Philadelphia Daily News under the headline “Tainted Justice” and won the reporters a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting.
“Busted” marks SKE’s first television project.
“Wendy and Barbara have written an amazing true story, and we’re thrilled for it to be SKE’s first television project,” said SKE president Jim Tauber and president of production Carla Hacken in a statement. “Sarah Jessica’s coming on board, along with David Frankel and Don Roos is simply a perfect combination that we couldn’t be happier about.”
Hacken will serve as an executive producer. She secured the book rights from WME as an independent producer and brought the project to SKE in March when she joined the company. Hacken had previously worked with Frankel on “The Devil Wears Prada.”
Parker is repped by CAA. Frankel is repped by Anonymous Content and WME. The book is repped by WME and Larry Weissman at Larry Weissman Literary. Roos is repped by UTA. The deals were negotiated by Nick Hanks for SKE and Dave Fierson for Anonymous Content.
