Mackenzi Lee’s popular 2017 YA novel, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, has been optioned by Greg Berlanti for Berlanti Productions, according to Variety.
Gentleman’s Guide, which made Hypable’s Best Books of 2017 list, follows the misadventures of Monty, his best friend Percy, and sister Felicity, while on a Grand Tour of Europe.
Monty, who is bisexual, is in love with Percy — who, in turn, experiences discrimination on their journey due to being biracial — and the story navigates their relationship, in between run-ins with pirates, magic and a few other twists and turns thrown in.
Berlanti is currently searching for a showrunner to helm the project, before he begins to shop it around to networks.
Berlanti Productions has several shows in production and currently airing on television. On the CW alone, Berlanti Productions is responsible for Riverdale, Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Black Lightning. Other Berlanti produced dramas currently airing are Blindspot on NBC, and Deception on ABC.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is currently in development with Netflix, with the CW’s Spencer, CBS dramas God Friended Me and Red Line, and ABC comedy Most Likely To all in contention with pilots for the 2018-19 season. You, which was based on a novel by Caroline Kepnes, received a straight-to-series order from Lifetime, and will premiere in Fall.
With such a prolific slate of beloved and popular series, it is likely the Gentleman’s Guide will be in high demand from several networks. We wouldn’t be surprised to see a bidding war break out — especially considering the rave reviews the book enjoyed.
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