Streaming Roundup (3/10/21): Including ‘The Runaway Bunny’ and Musical Plans For ‘Queen’s Gambit’
HBO Max will premiere the new animated special “The Runaway Bunny” on March 25, based on the classic children’s book. Director Amy Schatz uses hand-drawn animation, narration by Tracee Ellis Ross and songs by Maria Carey and Rosanne Cash to tell the gentle story and bring the illustrations of Clement Hurd and the poetry of Margaret Wise Brown to life.
Here’s a look at other deals and upcoming projects:
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“The Queen’s Gambit” is being adapted as a musical for the theater stage. Level Forward has acquired the rights to Walter Tevis’ 1983 book. The Netflix miniseries about the story of fictional chess prodigy Beth Harmon has become wildly popular and acclaimed, and now her story will be turned into a stage musical. Star Anya Taylor-Joy is not involved in the project. “The story is a siren call amid our contemporary struggles for gender and racial equity, and we’re looking forward to moving the project forward,” said Level Forward CEO Adrienne Becker and producer Julia Dunetz. Level Forward has backed shows nominated for a collective 37 Tony Awards, including “Oklahoma!” and “What the Constitution Means to Me.”
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“The Lost Symbol” series, based on Dan Brown’s bestseller, moves to Peacock. It follows the early adventures of famed Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, who must solve a series of deadly puzzles to save his kidnapped mentor. Brown gained fame for “The Da Vinci Code.” Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie double as writers and executive producers.
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Steven Spielberg and Matt and Ross Duffer (“Stranger Things”) are partnering to adapt Stephen King’s “The Talisman” as a series for Netflix. Curtis Gwinn will write the series and serve as showrunner.
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Malala Yousafzai has signed a multiyear programming deal with Apple TV+. The deal will have the women’s rights activist and youngest Nobel laureate develop original programming for the streamer. Best known for her memoir “I Am Malala,” which she published at 16, Yousafzai has since written two more books, starred in a documentary about her early life, and founded the Malala Fund to support every girl’s right to 12 years of safe, free, quality education.
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Law & Crime was just added to Peacock’s linear channels, as it preps for the network’s coverage of the trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the George Floyd murder case. Law & Crime offers multiple trials daily, plus original programs, such as “Trial File” and “Brian Ross Investigates,” hosted by former ABC chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross. The channel was created by legal commentator-attorney Dan Abrams.
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Emmy-winner Annie Murphy has joined the cast of Netflix’s “Russian Doll” for season two. The “Schitt’s Creek” star is best known for playing the self-absorbed Alexis Rose in the CBC comedy now streaming its first five seasons on Netflix.