HBO Max is transforming Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers” into a series — and its first subject is Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Fauci, a renowned immunologist, leads the White House Coronavirus Task Force. He is the go-to press source to answer questions about the pandemic, applauded for cool under pressure and an adherence to facts.
The series is also based on The New Yorker article (link: “How Anthony Fauci Became America’s Doctor.”
“Outliers” will be part biography and part history, exploring how key individuals leave their mark on specific moments in history. Fauci has advised six U.S. presidents on HIV/AIDS, as well as various health issues.
Brian Grazer of Image Television is one of the executive producers. Greg Walker (“Titans”) will both write and executive produce. Gladwell is also onboard as an executive producer.
Gladwell told Deadline the point of his book was to “tell the story of success in different ways, looking at the way talent is affected by luck and circumstance and culture and context.”
HBO Max also announced that Gloria Calderón Kellett co-creater/showrunner for the revamped “One Day at a Time” and Natasha Rothwell (“Insecure”) will team for a 1980s coming-of-age feature set in Chicago. The show will focus on black, brown and LGBTQ kids.
Rothwell will next be seen in “Wonder Woman 1984” and has teamed with Abbi Jacobson-Illana Glazer (“Broad City) to star in Comedy Central’s “Malltown” pilot.