Twenty Years Later optioned for television

EXCLUSIVE: Shaun Redick & Yvette Yates Redick‘s production company, Impossible Dream Entertainment, is developing a series adaptation of Twenty Years Later, Kensington’s 2021 bestseller from author Charlie Donlea.

While the Redicks will be spearheading production, Brandon and Justin Weber‘s Monte Cristo Entertainment along with Corey McGowan’s Lazy Mary Pictures were instrumental in acquiring rights to the book. The Weber Brothers have penned the adaptation and will exec produce alongside McGowan.

A mystery thriller in the vein of Big Little Lies, True Detective, and Gone Girl, Twenty Years Later follows Avery Mason, TV host of American Events, who knows her latest story – a murder mystery laced with sex, tragedy, and betrayal – is ratings gold. With new technology, the New York medical examiner’s office has made its first successful identification of a 9/11 victim in years. The twist: the victim in question, Victoria Ford, had been accused of murder at the time of her death. As Avery goes into investigative overdrive, she starts to unwind an intricate puzzle of Victoria’s life, as well as a much darker mystery. But there are other players in the game who are interested in Avery’s own past — one she has kept secret from the world, her bosses and her audience. A secret she thought was dead and buried.

Named as one of the New York Times’ Best Thrillers for winter 2021, Twenty Years Later is the first title in a series of novels, the second installment of which is currently in the works. The book has been translated thus far into 12 languages, selling hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide.

“We are thrilled to team up with the Weber Brothers on Charlie’s Donlea’s global bestseller novel Twenty Years Later,” said Shaun and Yvette Yates Redick in a statement to Deadline. “They are bold new storytellers ready to take on a complex narrative like this one that masterfully blends suspense, drama, and mystery. It’s no secret as to why this novel is so highly rated on Amazon and Goodreads, as it engaged us from start to finish. Twenty Years Later maintains a breathtaking pace along with a myriad of plots twists.”

Added the Webers, “As huge fans of Shaun and Yvette’s projects, we couldn’t be more excited to be working with them on Twenty Years Later. The novel hooked us from the very first line. We firmly believe Avery Mason can be one of those transcendent television characters and that this book merely serves as her jumping off point. The possibilities are endless.”

A USA Today and #1 international bestseller, Donlea’s other novels include Summit Lake, The Girl Who Was Taken, Don’t Believe It, Some Choose Darkness, The Suicide House, and Those Empty Eyes. His eighth thriller, Long Time Gone, is slated for release in June 2024.

A pair of exciting up-and-comers for whom Twenty Years Later marks a breakthrough project, Brandon and Justin Weber currently work, respectively, in business affairs, and as the Director of Brand Partnerships for sports media company On3. An attorney, published author, and former NFL law clerk, Brandon previously served as the Salary Cap Manager for the Chicago Bears. A former nationally ranked wrestler for the Wisconsin Badgers, Justin’s role at On3 sees him leading all business partnerships related to NIL, college football, and college basketball.

The films of Impossible Dream Entertainment’s Shaun Redick & Yvette Yates Redick have thus far scored 12 Academy Award nominations. The pair have developed and produced films including Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning 2017 phenomenon Get Out and Spike Lee’s 2018 Cannes Grand Prix Winner, BlacKkKlansman, which won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay from six nominations. The Redicks also produced Netflix’s recent #1 chart-topper Day Shift, a vampire hunter action comedy starring Jamie Foxx, Dave Franco, and Snoop Dogg.

McGowan and his Lazy Mary Pictures are currently developing a biopic on Fritz Pollard, the first Black football player in the NFL, which has Joel B. Michaels (Terminator Salvation) attached to produce.

McGowan and Lazy Mary Pictures are represented by Westwood Creative Artists and Hummingbird Lawyers LLP. The Weber Brothers are repped by Fourth Wall Management and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller. Donlea is with StringerLit. Shari Smiley repped rights to the book for film/TV.