Endemol Shine & Gal Gadot Plot U.S. Remake Of Israeli Drama ‘Queens’

Endemol Shine is teaming with Gal Gadot to develop a U.S. version of Israeli crime drama Queens.

Endemol Shine North America and Endemol Shine Israel are working with Gadot and Jaron Varsano’s Pilot Wave to remake the series, which originally aired on cable network Hot.

The show, which is returning for a second season in Israel in 2020, follows the women of the Malka family, who must band together after all the Malka men are murdered by a rival crime syndicate. Thrust into a life that they did not choose or necessarily want, the women realize they can finally control their own destinies and respond to each other and the world around them as complete individuals, all while trying to stay alive.

It was created by Gal Zaid, Dani Rosenberg, Ruth Zaid and Dror Nobelman, based on an idea by Limor Nahm and produced by Endemol Shine Israel.

Gadot and Varsano will serve as executive producers on the U.S. version, together with Hot’s Nadav Hanin, Mirit Toovi and Guy Levy, Endemol Shine Israel’s Amir Ganor, Gal Zaid, Ruth Zaid, as well as Endemol Shine North America’s Sharon Levy and Lisa Fahrenholt. The team are packaging up the project and plan to take it to the marketplace at the top of the new year.

Earlier this year, the Wonder Woman star teamed with with producing partner and husband Jaron Varsano to form Pilot Wave. It is working on film projects including My Dearest Fidel, with Chris Brancato penning the script and Sue Kroll producing, and Hedy Lamarr, a Showtime limited series which Gadot will star and executive produce from Warren Littlefield and Endeavor Content, with The Affair’s Sarah Treem writing.

Next up for Gadot is Wonder Woman 1984, where she will reprise her role as well as produce the film, which is set for a June 5 2020 release. She has just finished shooting Kenneth Branagh film, Death on the Nile from 20th Century Fox and will begin production on the Netflix film Red Notice with Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds.

It is the latest U.S. remake of an international series for Endemol Shine North America. The company is producing a remake of British drama Utopia, written and produced by Gone Girl’s Gillian Flynn, for Amazon, and makes Fox drama Almost Family, in association with Universal Television, which is a remake of Australian drama Sisters. It also has Ripley, written and directed by The Irishman’s Steve Zaillian and starring Fleabag’s Andrew Scott, at Showtime.

“We are so excited to celebrate these women through the Queens story. These complex characters are captivating, delightfully funny and emotional. It is rare to find content that conveys characters in such a truthful way, while mirroring society. We are looking forward to bringing their story to the world and working with the Endemol Shine team on this project,” said Gadot and Varsano.

“Queens is a complex piece about being female in our day in age, and all that goes with that from a family, career and relationship perspective,” says Endemol Shine North America’s Levy. “Watching these women make bold decisions, hilarious mistakes and learn to lean on one another set against a thriller backdrop, gives this show such a unique spirit that we all fell in love with it immediately. It’s gratifying to see a series that treats women with a deft complexity, showcasing that our differences are the strengths that unite us.”

“Queens is a brilliant story of female empowerment, with comic undertones and larger-than-life, eccentric women at its heart,” added Endemol Shine Israel’s Gail Zaid. “Hot nurtured this show and laid excellent groundwork to ensure its success and I’m absolutely thrilled to evolve the dramatic characters for the U.S. version with Gal, Jaron and the talented team at Endemol Shine North America.”