Pure Fiction, See-Saw adapting Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London novels for TV

Ben Aaronovitch’s urban fantasy novel series Rivers of London is set to be adapted for television after the author and screenwriter inked a deal with Tom Winchester’s newly launched prodco, Pure Fiction Television and See-Saw Films.

Tom Winchester

Under the partnership, Pure Fiction and See-Saw Films will team with Aaronovitch’s production banner, Unnecessary Logo, to adapt all nine of the Rivers of London novels, in addition to its accompanying short stories, novellas and graphic novels. This marks the first time the property is being adapted for the screen.

The first novel in the series, published by Orion Books, was released in 2011, with the most recent instalment, Amongst Our Weapons, launching earlier this year. Aaronovitch’s work has been translated into 14 languages and sold more than five million copies worldwide.

The author, who began his career working as a screenwriter on Doctor Who (Remembrance of the Daleks), will executive produce the series through Unnecessary Logo alongside Pure Fiction Television and See-Saw Films.

The announcement comes a week after Winchester, who recently left his position as president of Heyday Television, launched his new production banner, Pure Fiction. During his tenure with Heyday Television, Winchester worked on series including Clickbait (Netflix) and The Capture (BBC One), and optioned novels such as Liane Moriarty’s Apples Never Fall and Ashley Audrain’s The Push.

See-Saw produces series including Slow Horses and The Essex Serpent for Apple TV+, both of which are based on popular novels, and Heartstopper for Netflix, which is based on Alice Oseman’s graphic novel of the same name.

Meanwhile, Unnecessary Logo was launched recently by Aaronovitch alongside John Berlyne and Keith Northrop.