HBO takes Rowling’s Cormoran

Cormoran Strike stars Tom Burke

HBO in the US and Canada has picked up a forthcoming BBC drama series based on a trio of crime novels by Harry Potter scribe JK Rowling.

The Strike Series is based on Rowling’s bestselling crime novels, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

British actor Tom Burke stars as Cormoran Strike in the show, which explores the life of an Afghanistan veteran who becomes a private investigator.

Rowling’s UK-based prodco Brontë Film & TV is working on adaptations of the three books, which are being produced as three separate event dramas for BBC1 – The Cuckoo’s Calling (3×60’), The Silkworm (2×60’) and Career of Evil (2×60’).

Brontë previously worked on another adaptation based on Rowling’s novel The Casual Vacancy, which was coproduced with the BBC and HBO.

The dramas will go into production in London this autumn ahead of their UK premiere next year.