Lime Pictures has confirmed that it’s optioned Ben Oliver’s The Loop, to turn it into a television franchise.
It’s been acquired for the Liverpool company’s drama and young adult team, led by Louise Sutton (Butterfly, The Dumping Ground, Midsomer Murders, Home Fires, Jekyll & Hyde, Death in Paradise).
The story is centred around Luka, who’s been wrongfully imprisoned for 736 days inside The Loop – a futuristic equivalent of death row, where young offenders await their execution.
Inmates have the option to take part in “delays”, which are medical and scientific experiments to push back the date of execution.
Luka hears whispers of war and then notices that the “government-issued rain” stops falling and realises he needs to try and break out of the Loop.
Lime acquired the TV rights from James Carroll at Northbank Talent Management. The book is published by Chicken House.
“I wrote The Loop attempting to recapture that sense of immersion and excitement I had when I was 11 and reading Goosebumps, or 12 and reading Harry Potter, or 30 and reading Harry Potter again,” explained Oliver.
“I wrote it for fun and now this team of absolute geniuses appears to have assembled around me to help make it better and share it with the world. Most of the time I’m sure it’s a dream – I’ve long admired Chicken House’s books and now I’m one of their authors, and Louise Sutton has produced one of my all-time favourite shows. I’m over the moon to be working with them both in the coming years.”
Sutton, whose Black Mirror episode USS Callister recently won the 2018 Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie, added:
“I am absolutely delighted to be working on THE LOOP with Ben. He has created an irresistible world and filled it with characters who you care for desperately. The book marries big conversations such as crime and punishment, and artificial intelligence with universal YA themes such as love, friendship and betrayal. It is a riveting read which will be a joy to translate for the screen”.
