Amazon MGM Developing a Series From Melinda Leigh's Novel The Courier

Amazon MGM Studios is developing a television series based on The Courier, a novel by Melinda Leigh, according to Deadline. Development means the studio is working on the project, but it has not yet committed to a full run of episodes.

The show is built around Daisy, a diplomatic courier. She is framed for a plane explosion that was meant to kill her and hide a stolen package. Once she is blamed, she goes on the run across Europe. She has to clear her name, stay out of sight, work out what was taken and find out why it was worth her life.

Martin Gero, the creator of the network drama Blindspot, is behind the adaptation. Deadline reports that he will serve as showrunner, meaning he will oversee the writing and the day-to-day running of the series. He will also write and executive produce it under his Quinn's House banner. Quinn's House, together with its producing partner Premeditated Productions, has an exclusive deal at Amazon, the report says.

Liz Pelletier and Sherryl Clark will executive produce through Premeditated Productions. Julie Jarmon, the company's senior vice president of television, will act as co-executive producer.

The source novel comes from Entangled Publishing's Sideways imprint. Deadline says it is due out next March. Representatives for Amazon declined to comment on the series news.

Development deals like this one are where a television project starts. A writers' room, a set of scripts and a pilot episode can all come before a platform decides to order episodes, and many projects never reach that stage. For readers who know the book, the show is the next step in a path that has so far been set out only in outline. For everyone else, the news is simply that a new thriller is being built, with its creative team now named.

Nothing has been scheduled, and no premiere date, cast or episode count has been announced.