Channel 4 & HBO Greenlight Marlon James’ Screenwriting Debut

Get Millie Black, author Marlon James’ screenwriting debut, has been greenlit by Channel 4 and HBO, with Motive Pictures producing.

The six-part drama follows Millie-Jean Black as she returns to her roots from her troubled life in London to work missing-persons cases for the Jamaican police force. When one investigation leads her to the plantation-owning elite, the case explodes onto the international stage and propels her back to the U.K.

Get Millie Black explores the legacy of racism, slavery, sexuality, classism and cycles of trauma in the post-colonial landscape of Britain and Jamaica. It will go into production in 2022, filming in the U.K and Jamaica. Motive Pictures will produce, with Simon Maxwell, James and Leopoldo Gout serving as executive producers.

James said: “My mother was one of the first policewomen in Jamaica to make detective. Storytelling has always struck me first and foremost as a mystery to be solved—which I’m sure I got from her. Millie, from the second she appeared in my imagination, was a brilliant, mercurial, hilarious, unpredictable force of nature; someone who was always there, just waiting for her story to be told. I didn’t create her, I found her.”

Caroline Hollick, head of Channel 4 drama, said: “Marlon James is one of the literary superstars of our generation, and to be able to greenlight his first original drama series is nothing short of a total privilege. Get Millie Black is every bit the smart, bold and complex piece of storytelling that you would expect from Marlon; it’s a tale that digs deep into identity and belonging, but it’s one that is firmly at home on Channel 4 and embodies everything that our drama should be about. The scripts are utterly enthralling; Millie came to us already living and breathing on the page and I can’t wait to see her step off of it and captivate audiences on screen.”

Maxwell, CEO of Motive Pictures, added: “Marlon James has set the literary world on fire with his novels and we’re so proud to be producing his first original work for the screen. With Get Millie Black, he’s created a noir tour-de-force, an unrelenting, uncompromising ride through the Anglo-Jamaican underworld that will grip and entertain while shining a light into the darkest recesses of our post-colonial legacy. We can’t wait for audiences to meet Millie Black; she’s found her perfect home on Channel 4 and HBO.”

Francesca Orsi, executive VP of HBO Programming, commented: “With Get Millie Black, Marlon James has achieved the extraordinary, invigorating noir storytelling by bringing it to his native Jamaica through a dazzling mosaic of shifting perspectives. He is one of the most prolific and imaginative authors of our time and we’re honored that he has entrusted HBO with this thrilling and deeply personal story.”