Wednesday round-up: Latest news, deals & hires

Prime Video adapts BookTok hit 

Nicole Clemens has unveiled the latest show to come out of her Prime Video international division, with a romantic drama based on Chloe Walsh’s Boys of Tommen novels.

The books, which became a BookTok hit, track a star rugby player with a secret injury who falls in love with a shy girl who is hiding a vilent home life. The first season is based on the first two novels - Binding 13 and Keeping 13 - with Wiip producing in association with Amazon MGM Studios, and Metropolitan providing local production services.

Poppy Cogan is lead writer and executive producer alongside author Walsh, Wiip’s Paul Lee, Hope Hartman and Sean Flanagan. Temple Hill’s Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, James Seidman and Annika Patten and Drama Republic’s Greg Brenman and Deena Butt are also attached.

Clemens, who left Paramount in 2024 and went on to become vice president of international originals at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, said the scripts “capture the intensity” of the relationship and would explore themes of mental health, bullying and resilience.

Acorn TV preps Aussie drama

AMC Networks-owned streamer Acorn TV is preparing to launch Australian mystery series The Family Next Door.

The six-part series, starring Teresa Palmer (A Discovery of Witches), is based on the novel of the same name by Sally Hepworth and will debut 23 February in the US and Canada. Subsequent episodes debut weekly on Mondays.

The show debuted on the ABC last year and follows a woman’s obsessive drive to solve a neighborhood mystery casts suspicion on four local families. Beyond Entertainment and Muse Entertainment co-produce, with Emma Freeman directing, and writing by Sarah Scheller, Pip Karmel, Julia Moriarty and Andrew Anastasios.

Duck Soup co-founder joins Candour

Candour Productions has appointed Jessica Brown Meek, founder of Lost Boys & Fairies producer Duck Soup Films, as co-head of production.

She will job share with current head of production Ali Lycett at the Leeds-based indie.

Brown Meek co-founded fellow Leeds-based indie Duck Soup along with Libby Durdy and Bekki Wray-Rogers in 2015, but the company closed its doors in November last year as a result of economic conditions.

She was also the exec producer on Dreamers and previously worked on Warp Films’ series This Is England, with credits across scripted and factual productions.

Balich Wonder Studios hires Saatchi chief

Banijay-owned Balich Wonder Studio has hired Carlo Noseda as its CEO following the exit of Stefano Core on Monday.

Noseda joins with a remit to strengthen the live event company’s market position and expand and diversify the delivery of large-scale projects worldwide.

He starts 1 March and joins from M&C Saatchi Group Europe, which he built and has led as CEO since 2010, while also serving on the global executive leadership team of M&C Saatchi Group.