Lionsgate Signs Lynda La Plante to Develop New Drama

LOS ANGELES: Lynda La Plante has signed on with Lionsgate to develop the new one-hour drama Villains of All Nations, based on Marcus Rediker’s book about the golden age of pirates in the 17th and 18th centuries.

La Plante joins executive producers Alexandra Milchan (Street Kings, Mirrors) and Alessandro Camon (Thank You for Smoking, The Messenger) on the project. La Plante is a screenwriter, best-selling novelist and head of her own production company, La Plante Productions. She wrote the award-winning crime drama Prime Suspect, starring Helen Mirren, and recently created and served as an exec producer on the pilot of an American version of the series for NBC that stars Maria Bello and Aiden Quinn. Her other TV credits include the British drama Above Suspicion, the U.S. series The Prosecutors and a number of other U.K. and U.S. projects, in addition to penning some 15 books.

“We’ve been hoping to work with Lynda for some time and the stars have finally aligned on this project,” said Kevin Beggs, the president of Lionsgate Television Group. “Not only is she a brilliant writer, she happens to have a longtime love and knowledge of the subject matter and we believe she can achieve exactly the kind of ‘Deadwood on the high seas’ sensibility we’re looking for.” 

“It’s an honor to have the brilliantly researched Marcus Rediker’s Villain of All Nations as a bible, and to have everyone at Lionsgate encouraging me to fly the flag for this prestigious series,” commented La Plante. “This makes it a truly exciting project to write, and I’m exhilarated to have the chance to open up this extraordinary world.” 

“Marcus Rediker wrote a groundbreaking historical account of piracy, and Lynda brings to it her own unique vision to create a truly epic tale,” added Milchan and Camon. “We think this will re-define the genre, and illuminate the real roots of a phenomenon that has captured the imagination for centuries.”