“Shantaram” being adapted for Apple TV series
Earlier this year, Anonymous Content and Paramount TV won a bigging war for the rights to Gregory David Roberts’ best-selling novel Shantaram. Deadline is now reporting that Apple will be giving the project straight-to-series consideration.
Originally published by Scribe Publications in 2003, Shantaram tells of an Australian bank robber, heroin addict and prison escapee who finds forgiveness and redemption in the underworld of India. Deadline also reports that a deal was made for a right to the novel’s sequel: The Mountain Shadow.
Oscar nominee Eric Warren Singer (American Hustle) who will write and executive produce the series, while David Manson (Ozark, Bloodline, House of Cards) will executive produce. Anonymous Content’s Nicole Clemens and Steve Golin will executive product alongside Andrea Barron.
As for the story…
Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear.
Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter Bombay’s hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.
You’ll be able to find it on your Apple TV, but we’re still not sure when; Apple has yet to announce how they’ll be making these shows available and at what point they’ll start rolling out. What we do know is that the list of projects continues to grow. Along with Shantaram, Apple is working on:
- Sara Bareilles’ musical dramedy A Little Voice, a love letter to the diverse musicality of New York
- Dickinson, a comedy based on the life of Emily Dickinson and starring Hailee Steinfeld
- Central Park, an animated musical comedy from Bob’s Burgers creator Loren Bouchard
- An adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy
- Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon’s Little America, based on Epic Magazine’s series of true stories of American immigrants
- A psychological thriller from executive producer M. Night Shyamalan
- A drama series centered around NBA star Kevin Durant
- A new show from the creator of La La Land
- A Kristen Wiig comedy based on Curtis Sittenfeld’s upcoming short-story collection You Think It, I’ll Say It
- A futuristic world-building drama called See
- A docuseries called Home
- Are You Sleeping? starring Octavia Spencer and based on Kathleen Barber’s novel of the same name
- A reboot of Steven Spielberg’s ’80s anthology Amazing Stories
- A new sci-fi drama from Ronald D. Moore
About the Author
Kirk Hiner has been writing for the Apple web since 1997, having served as editor of Applelinks and the Technology Tell Apple Channel. In addition to his work with BEST Apple TV, Kirk currently contributes to Mac Gamer HQ and Pure Nintendo. He lives with his wife and three children in small-town Ohio where the land is cheap and the air is (relatively) clean.
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