FremantleMedia North America Scores First-Look Deal with Neil Gaiman

BURBANK: FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) has entered into an exclusive, multiyear first-look agreement with the best-selling author Neil Gaiman.

FMNA and Gaiman first began their relationship when the two joined forces to adapt Gaiman’s American Gods. The new far-reaching agreement will provide opportunities for FMNA and Gaiman to adapt any of his works, from novels to short stories, for television.

The deal also allows for adaptation of projects involving third-party source material and IP. The partnership covers Gaiman’s involvement in all creative capacities, including as a writer and as a producer. FMNA and Gaiman are already working together to identify a slate of projects. The plans are for projects that encompass both original content, as well as existing Gaiman properties.

Craig Cegielski, co-CEO of FremantleMedia North America, said: “Neil Gaiman is one of the most distinctive writers of our time and we’ve been incredibly fortunate to be entrusted with his vision while adapting American Gods. Our experience together has proven more than collaborative—it’s a shared ambition to create, develop and produce singular, bespoke content. We couldn’t be happier to diversify and expand our relationship to future projects.”

Gaiman added: “Working with my friends at FremantleMedia on shepherding American Gods to the screen has been exciting and a delightful way to spend the last three years. I’ve learned to trust them and to harness their talents and enthusiasm, as they’ve learned to harness mine. They don’t mind that I love creating a ridiculously wide variety of things, and I am glad that even the strangest projects of mine will have a home with them. American Gods is TV nobody has seen before and I can’t wait to announce the specifics behind what we have coming up next.”