‘Bridgerton’ Creator Chris Van Dusen Adapting ‘They Both Die At the End’ for TV
Chris Van Dusen, best known as the creator and showrunner of the Netflix period drama Bridgerton, has agreed to co-write and executive produce a TV adaptation of Adam Silvera’s bestselling YA novel They Both Die at the End.
The project comes from Entertainment One and Drew Comins’ Creative Engine Entertainment and has been in the works for about 10 months, according to Deadline. With Van Dusen now on board to co-write the pilot episode, the series will be shopped to the premium marketplace in the near future.
They Both Die at the End was first published in 2017 and quickly became a New York Times bestseller. The story centers around two teenage boys, Mateo and Rufus, who discover that they only have one day left to live. While strangers, the two boys find each other through a unique app called Last Friend and end up meeting, hoping to live a lifetime together in a single day.
While the book was a bestseller at the time of release in 2017, it has had a resurgence over the past year as it trended on TikTok. As part of the hashtag #BookTok, where users recommend books and share their reactions, Silvera’s novel was a big hit. It ranked as the bestselling YA novel of 2021 and remains a No. 1 National Indie bestseller and the No. 1 YA bestseller in the U.K. and Australia.
This isn’t the first time someone has attempted to adapt the novel for television. They Both Die at the End was previously in development at HBO, with J.J. Abrams‘ production company Bad Robot and The Other Two co-creator Chris Kelly attached.
Van Dusen worked as a writer on Shonda Rhimes‘ Grey’s Anatomy from 2005 to 2012 and later served as a producer and writer on another Rhimes-created drama, Scandal. He has had recent success as the creator, executive producer, and showrunner of Bridgerton, Netflix’s most-watched English-language series ever. The second season of the popular period drama premieres on March 25.
Bridgerton, Season 2 Premiere, Friday, March 25, Netflix
They Both Die at the End, TBA
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