RTG Pacts with Charles Barkley’s Prodco for The Line

RTG Features, the newly established sister studio to SLAM, has partnered with Charles Barkley’s Round Mound Media to produce The Line.

A serialized one-hour scripted show, The Line is based on Charley Rosen’s best-selling book Scandals of ’51. The historical drama documents the real-life sports gambling crime saga that followed World War II. It examines America’s loss of innocence through the eyes of two college basketball players—one who uses the hypocrisy of the system he’s a part of to his advantage by point-shaving and another who strives to live up to the ideal of sports by playing only for the love of the game.

RTG is introducing The Line to buyers at the virtual American Film Market. The show will be executive produced by Barkley and his Round Mound Media, with Marc Perman and Randy Becker producing, and Aron Phillips and Matt Aronson producing for RTG Features. Scandals of ’51 was adapted by Branyon Davis and Kevin A. Garnett.

Barkley said: “I’m a big fan of Charley Rosen’s books, but Scandals of ’51 is especially timely to turn into a television series. It’s impossible to understand the present without knowing the past, and stories like this one—about cheating, racism and how easily amateur sports can be corrupted—are as true today as they were 70 years ago.”

Phillips, COO at both RTG and SLAM, said: “Branyon has done an amazing job expanding on the world from Charley’s iconic book into a captivating and timely pilot. We knew we wanted to go big with our first scripted television project, and we’re excited to bring in a seasoned showrunner to pair with him and bring this story to life.”