Cottage Industry Signs Fox First-Look Deal, Lists Danielle Steel's The Whittiers First
Cottage Industry Entertainment has signed a first-look deal with Fox Entertainment Studios, which means Fox gets the first chance to buy the company's projects. The first slate under the pact includes a TV series based on Danielle Steel's novel The Whittiers, according to Deadline.
The company was launched by Lisa Hamilton Daly and Alysia Cotter Thomas. The Whittiers is Steel's 200th book. It is about a family finding its way back to each other after tragedy, as ABC News describes it.
The series will be a one-hour family drama written by Jordanna Fraiberg. A one-hour drama means each episode runs about an hour, the standard length for many family dramas.
The television slate goes further. It includes Summer on Lilac Island, based on Lindsay MacMillan's novel, with Delondra Mesa attached to write it. "Attached" means she has been signed to write the script. The slate also includes Mom's Place, a comedy from Angela Kinsey and Audrey Wauchope.
On the film side, the company has It All Comes Down to This, a hockey-themed romantic comedy from Sam Sklaver and Elizabeth Peterson.
Two more projects are in development, meaning they are being worked on but have not yet been made. The View from Lake Como is based on Adriana Trigiani's novel. The Afterlife of Holly Chase is based on Cynthia Hand's novel and is being adapted by Ali Laventhol and Tawnya Bhattacharya.
Together, the list shows a company building around novels and writers, with a mix of drama, comedy and film. Each title is still at its own stage, and the Fox deal sets the first place where those projects can be sold.
