Tom Bidwell-penned Moonriver drama heading to French PSB
France Télévisions is the commissioner behind the fantasy adventure series The Gullivers, Broadcast understands.
The series, inspired by Jonathan Swift’s 1726 novel Gulliver’s Travels, will be co-produced by Nautilus indie Moonriver and European production group Federation Studios, with Tom Bidwell (Watership Down) as writer.
His adaptation will be told from the perspective of adventurer Gulliver’s 21st century wife and children.
Moonriver founder and managing director Xavier Marchand has previously said the six-part show “promises to be an eye-popping, world-building, action-packed adventure which will delight a multi-generational audience”.
He also said: “Swift’s timeless tale, with its iconic imagery, is an evergreen crowd-pleaser, and this fresh, contemporary take will reintroduce it to audiences in a way that feels more relevant than ever.”
Federation’s head of development, international originals & co-productions drama, Leo Becker said when the project was announced: “It’s a timeless classic we’ve been dying to revisit for some time now, and with Tom’s incomparable voice, plus our combined four-quadrant know-how, we can finally allow new generations to rediscover Swift’s ever so relevant tale.”
Moonriver’s 2025 epic Nautilus was inspired by Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. The 10-parter was originally commissioned by Disney+ before the streamer dropped the project as part of a cost-cutting drive. It was subsequently picked up by AMC for the US, Prime Video for the UK and Stan for Australia.
Moonriver recently shuffled its creative team appointing Urban Myth Films’ Hayley Cameron as head of development as it gears up for the launch of ABC/BBC1 crime drama Dustfall. She succeeded Daisy Gilbert, who has stepped into a full-time executive producer role, while exec producer Casey Herbert has also stepped up as a senior exec producer.
Paris-based Federation Studios owns more than 30 labels including Britannia producer Vertigo Films, British outfit Federation Stories and Italy’s Fabula Pictures. Its slate includes Canal+ thriller The Bureau and Lucky Luke for Disney+ and France Télévisions.
France Télévisions declined to comment.
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