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Rashida Jones, Will McCormack adapting UK comedy Lovesick under Lionsgate pact

Rashida Jones and Will McCormack have teamed with California-based Lionsgate Television Group

California-based Lionsgate Television Group has struck a first-look production deal with Rashida Jones and Will McCormack’s production banner Le Train Train.

Through the deal, the acting and producing duo will produce scripted TV projects across a range of platforms, including an adaptation of the UK comedy Lovesick.

The US remake is being developed through a previously announced scripted coproduction partnership between Lionsgate and BBC Studios Los Angeles Productions.

The original version of the sitcom was produced by London indie Clerkenwell Films (Misfits, The End of the F***ing World) and debuted on UK public broadcaster Channel 4 in October 2014. It was subsequently picked up by Netflix for its second and third seasons. The show follows the love lives of a group of English friends sharing a house in Glasgow, Scotland.

Tom Edge, creator of the original version of the series, will also be involved in the new iteration. He will serve as a non-writing executive producer alongside Clerkenwell Films’ Petra Fried, Ed Macdonald and Andy Baker plus Angie Stephenson from BBC Studios. Jones and McCormack and are also non-writing executive producers on the adaptation. A search for a lead writer is currently underway.

Lovesick debuted on UK broadcaster Channel 4 in 2014 (photo: Alan Peebles)

Le Train Train’s executive producer credits include TNT dramedy Claws and AMC’s Kevin Can F**k Himself. The production shingle is also behind #BlackAF for Netflix, A to Z for NBC and the documentaries Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On and Centerpiece.

Jones’ acting credits include Parks & Recreation, The Office and Sofia Coppola’s On The Rocks alongside Bill Murray. She is next set to appear in drama Wool for Apple TV+. Her writing credits include Black Mirror, Toy Story 4 and Celeste & Jesse Forever, which she co-wrote with McCormack.

McCormack recently won an Oscar for the animated short film If Anything Happens I Love You, which he co-wrote and co-directed with Michael Govier. He also has various screenplays in development, including Challenger Deep for Disney+, and his other writing credits include Toy Story 4 and NBC’s A to Z.

“We are thrilled to be in business with Lionsgate. Their imagination and blue sky thinking around what’s possible in this rapidly changing landscape of television is incredibly exciting to us as creators and producers,” said Jones and McCormack.

“There aren’t many writer/producers like Rashida and Will who can master both an R-rated comedy à la Celeste & Jesse Forever and a G-rated masterpiece such as Toy Story 4. We are looking forward to working with both of them to create more premium and compelling content for all types of viewers,” said Scott Herbst, head of scripted development and executive VP at Lionsgate Television.

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