Carnival Films to Adapt Robert Harris Thriller The Second Sleep

Carnival Films has acquired the rights to The Second Sleep, the new novel from acclaimed author Robert Harris (Fatherland, The Ghost, Enigma).

The novel is being adapted into a long-running television series by writer Bill Gallagher (Jamestown, Paranoid, Lark Rise to Candleford). In the story, a young priest arrives in a remote Exmoor village to conduct the funeral of his predecessor. The land around is strewn with artifacts, which the old parson used to collect, and questions arise about whether his obsession with the ancients led to his death.

Carnival’s Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant (Downton Abbey, The Last Kingdom) will serve as executive producers, alongside Harris and Gallagher.

Neame said: “Robert Harris’ The Second Sleep is an extraordinary work in its vision and originality, creating a rich world that speaks directly to our own. We are delighted to be working with Bill Gallagher again, whose inventiveness and sensitivity whilst telling stories in meticulously realized settings makes him the perfect writer for this project.”

Harris added: “The Second Sleep, like Fatherland, is set in a speculative world that mingles past and future. What immediately attracted me to Carnival’s proposal is its scope. The television series will both dramatize my novel and take it one step further, exploring my imaginary world beyond the confines of my story. I have great admiration for the work of Bill and Gareth, and I’m very much looking forward to working with them on this unique venture.”