Hot off rave reviews for her FX series Fleishman Is In Trouble, Taffy Brodesser-Akner has signed on to adapt Gavriel Savit‘s fantasy novel The Way Back for Paramount, Above the Line has exclusively learned.
The Way Back is described as a sweeping fantasy that follows two teens who embark on a perilous journey through the Far Country, a land of spirits and demons based on Jewish folklore. In order to survive, they must put their own painful pasts behind them and try to outwit the Angel of Death itself. The novel was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2020.
Scott Frank, who created Netflix’s Emmy-winning limited series The Queen’s Gambit, will produce the movie alongside Karen Rosenfelt, who recently served as an executive producer on the Emmy-nominated limited series Dopesick, as well as First Wives Club and The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Fleishman Is in Trouble started out as a bestselling novel written by Brodesser-Akner, who then served as creator and showrunner on the series adaptation, which premiered on FX on Hulu last November. Oscar-nominated actor Jesse Eisenberg plays the title character, and he’s joined by Claire Danes, Lizzy Caplan, and Adam Brody. She’s currently nominated for both a USC Scripter Award and a WGA Award for her work on the acclaimed series.
Brodesser-Akner is also a journalist who has written for GQ and the New York Times, where she is now a staff writer. She is represented by CAA.
