Awesome Media Options Caroline Mitchell Novel ‘Truth And Lies’ In Bid To Create Female ‘Luther’

Awesome Media & Entertainment, the Kew Media-backed IP and production company run by writer-producer Jeff Norton, has optioned a contemporary detective novel in the hope of creating a female Luther.

Awesome has secured the rights to New York Times best-selling author Caroline Mitchell’s Truth and Lies, the first installment in a series of novels on young London detective Amy Winter. The book is published by Amazon Publishing imprint Thomas & Mercer.

The story follows Winter, the daughter of a husband and wife who were imprisoned for a string of heinous killings, as she investigates the disappearance of a teenage girl and is forced to reconnect with her mother.

Norton said he wants to turn Truth and Lies into a returnable TV series, with the aim of creating a female version of Luther, the popular BBC One series starring Idris Elba.

Norton is already talking to co-production partners and buyers about the project, which he said would work well for British linear broadcaster attempting to attract a younger audience.

Awesome, which is backed by Kew Media Group and Tricycle Media, is currently in production on an adaptation of Susan Hill’s novel The Small Hand: A Ghost Story for Viacom’s Channel 5. The drama, Awesome’s first commission since launching last year, stars Shetland‘s Douglas Henshall and is co-produced by Two Rivers Media.

Its other developments include is a TV version of Norton’s Dino Knights novel with OmniFilm Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company. The live-action Knights Of Panterra series is being overseen by showrunner Simon Barry (Van Helsing).

Commenting on the Truth and Lies deal, Mitchell said: “Having met Jeff Norton and the team, I know my book could not be in better hands. I am very excited to see what the future brings.”