Corona, Fremantle adapt Smith novel

FremantleMedia International has teamed up with UK indie Corona Pictures to produce a TV adaptation of Wilbur Smith’s novel Birds of Prey.

Author and Hollywood screenwriter JJ Connolly (Layer Cake) is lined up to pen the adaptation of the first three novels of Smith’s ‘Courtney’ series.

The drama/adventure series will mark the first time a Smith novel has been made for television.

Birds of Prey is set against a backdrop of uncharted 17th century Africa. The drama chronicles three generations of the Courtney family as they battle to secure the clan’s fortunes in a land where sea-faring empires, privateers, wild animals and settled African tribes and nations fight it out for control of the land.

The series will be produced by Corona Pictures founders Richard Johns and Rupert Jermyn. FremantleMedia International will co-develop the series and distribute it internationally.

Smith’s 34 books have sold over 120 million copies worldwide.