Paramount TV Announces Margaret Atwood’s MADDADDAM TRILOGY Is Finally in Development

Very busy over here at GGA Headquarters, but we had to take a moment to get giddy about the fact that a TV series of Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam novels is officially in the works! Today Paramount TV announced that they have, in partnership with Anonymous Content and Rock, Paper, Scissors Entertainment, obtained the rights to develop a show from Atwood’s landmark trilogy.

The MaddAddam trilogy, consisting of Oryx and Crake, The Year of The Flood and MaddAddam is widely considered a speculative fiction masterpiece. For the uninitiated, the books chronicle the coming of global plague that changes everything on Earth. But, because this is from the master Margaret Atwood, that description does not begin to describe the complexity, beauty and terrifying resonance of these books.

With the age of “Peak TV” upon us, it seems that a general audience has finally developed a taste for Atwood’s genre-defying work. Recent outings, including the award winning The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu and the excellent limited series of Alias Grace on Netflix, have given Atwood devotees a lot of confidence in Hollywood’s ability to realize her often challenging narrative and literary style. Compared to the above works, the MaddAddam series, with its broken, non-linear storytelling and its large cast of characters, is a big swing. And we are hoping… no, PRAYING… that they hit a home run with this one!

Several years ago, we reported the rumors that director Darren Aronofsky was working with HBO to bring this series to television. There is no word of his involvement here and no writers or directors were named in Paramount’s release, so it’s a safe bet that this is a fresh start for this property. But with these producing auspices and the reportedly competitive battle for the rights, it’s a fair bet that this one won’t fade. We will, no doubt, be seeing more announcements regarding creatives in the coming weeks and months.

In the meantime, you need to dash to your computer, bookstore or library and find yourself a copy of Oryx and Crake. That way you can dig into this dark, troubling and often beautiful world of corporate oligarchs, genetically altered animals, apocalyptic gardener cults and tank grown chicken nuggets, before the show drops on your TV. Or computer screen. Or phone. Or watch. Or wherever the hell you’re consuming content on these days. Whatever the case, we cannot wait for more news on this one!