Back in July, Bill Clinton and James Patterson were said to be shopping their upcoming book, The President Is Missing, to Hollywood studios for a big screen adaptation. While that wasn’t a surprise, the A-list talent they were going after made us do a double take at the time. The duo has since reconsidered as The Wrap is now reporting that Showtime will adapt the book.
The President Is Missing will be published in June 2018 and Showtime is expected to develop a series out of the material sometime after. Few plot details are known of Clinton’s first book, but The Wrap reports that it will “tell the startling story of a sitting U.S. president’s disappearance, with the level of detail that only someone who has held the office can know.”
“I’m really enjoying writing this book and working with Jim,” Clinton said in a statement. “And I can’t wait to see Showtime bring the characters to life.”
“Bringing The President Is Missing to Showtime is a coup of the highest order,” Showtime president and CEO David Nevins said. “The pairing of President Clinton with fiction’s most gripping storyteller promises a kinetic experience, one that the book world has salivated over for months and that now will dovetail perfectly into a politically relevant, character-based action series for our network.”
“The White House is such an exciting world to explore and is made even more so with the unique insights of a former president,” Patterson added. “Rich storytelling opportunities for this series abound.”
Political intrigue is always a hot source to mine for small screen content. Netflix’s House of Cards is still going strong in its fifth season and HBO built Game of Thrones‘ foundation on the plots and schemes surrounding the Iron Throne. Hopefully, The President Is Missing can deliver similar excitement.
