Freedom Scripted to Adapt Sebastian Faulks Novel

The Glasgow-based indie Freedom Scripted is set to adapt Engleby, the 2007 cult novel penned by Sebastian Faulks.

Set between London and Cambridge, the six-part drama is a British murder mystery and psychological character study. Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place) is attached to play Engleby, while Michael Keillor (Best Interests, Lockerbie) is set to direct.

Ryan Craig (Filthy Business, Our Class, The Musketeers) and Jess Ruston (Geek Girl, Harlots, Young Wallander) have been tapped to write.

Keillor said, “It’s an honor to bring the fascinating and mercurial character of Engleby to life with Ryan, Jess and the whole team at Freedom Scripted.”

Jupe added, “I’m excited to be working with Freedom on bringing to screen one of Faulks’ most beguiling and chilling characters.”

“Engleby is one of the most uniquely memorable voices in contemporary fiction – the blend of sharp intelligence, deep dysfunction, wry humor in this ultimate outsider make him an irresistible character,” said Ruston.

Craig commented, “Like the best thrillers, Engleby makes you feel complicit in the action and breathless at every twist in the plot… I can think of few stories that lend themselves so perfectly to TV drama.”

“True crime can be compelling, but also at times exploitative and misleading,” said Mike Ellen, Freedom Scripted’s managing director. “In Engleby, which sprung from the brilliant mind of Sebastian Faulks, we tackle the reliability or otherwise of narration, and ultimately ‘make it up to tell the truth’ about a tragic set of very real feeling, fictional events. Ryan and Jess are working with a respected forensic psychiatrist to make sure we get things right, as well as produce a highly bingeable drama.”