Blink Studios to adapt forthcoming Charlene Carr novel Hold My Girl for TV

Blink Studios, the Endeavor Content-backed venture led by John Morayniss, has optioned the rights to the upcoming novel Hold My Girl from emerging Canadian author Charlene Carr.

Charlene Carr

The Toronto-headquartered company, which launched in November, will serve as the studio on the TV adaptation.

The show will be executive produced by Michael London and Shannon Gaulding of LA-based Groundswell Productions (Snowfall, The Magicians) alongside recently appointed Blink Studios execs Carolyn Newman and Virginia Rankin.

The adaptation of Hold My Girl is the first project unveiled by Blink, which secured the option in competition with multiple bidders.

The novel, set for release in 2023 via Welbeck Publishing in the UK and Harper Collins in Canada, is described as a “heart-wrenching, dual-narrative women’s fiction novel” telling the story of two women whose eggs are switched during IVF. However, a year later it is revealed that one of them has been raising the wrong daughter and the other has been grieving a stillborn child that wasn’t hers.

Blink Studios was co-founded by Morayniss alongside former Entertainment One colleagues Patrice Theroux as executive vice chair, Nelson Kuo-Lee as chief financial officer and Jeff Lynas as chief operating officer. The company later added Newman as executive VP, global scripted and Rankin as in-house executive producer.

Endeavor Content, which officially became part of South Korean entertainment company CJ ENM earlier this week, is the company’s anchor investor and lead strategic partner, as well as its priority distribution partner on a worldwide basis.

A fundamental tenet of Blink’s strategy is to invest a “significant portion” of its capital in supporting new and diverse Canadian voices across both scripted and unscripted programming.

Nova Scotia-based Carr is represented by Hayley Steed. The deal was brokered by Hannah Ladds, dramatic rights agent at UK-based Madeleine Milburn, Literary, TV & Film Agency.