The backlisted horseracing thriller novels by father and son team Dick and Felix Francis have been optioned for TV.
Production company Kudos will create a returning TV show, provisionally entitled The Turf, which is currently in development with a major UK broadcaster.
Australian showrunner Kris Mrksa, who worked on White House Farm, Requiem, and The Blue, is attached to the project, which will mine from over 60 years’ worth of novels to develop characters, plotlines and inspiration. Felix Francis will act as executive producer and series consultant, with his brother Merrick Francis also assuming a consultancy role.
‘It has been a long-held ambition of mine to produce real quality dramas of the Dick Francis and Felix Francis stories, and I am so excited that the prospect is a huge step closer thanks to the involvement of Kudos and Kris Mrksa,’ said Felix Francis.
Karen Wilson, joint m.d. for Kudos, added: ‘We’re really excited to be working with Felix and Kris and look forward to bringing some of the incredible stories and characters to life for TV audiences.’