EXCLUSIVE: Ahead of the release of Task, HBO’s buzzy crime drama from Mare of Easttown‘s Brad Ingelsby, on which he served as director and executive producer, Jeremiah Zagar has found a new project, signing on to direct Nothing to See Here for Sony‘s 3000 Pictures.
Zagar is also adapting the screenplay, based on the bestselling novel by Kevin Wilson, with Desta Tedros Reff (A League of Their Own). The project, which is currently in development, will be produced by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber alongside Jeremy Yaches and Erin Siminoff, with author Wilson exec producing. 3000 Pictures’ Elizabeth Gabler and James Gelberg will oversee the project for the studio.
Published in October 2019 by Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins, Nothing to See Here is described as a funny and emotional story of class, family, love, and friendship centered on the relationship between Lillian and Madison, two former boarding school friends from completely different backgrounds. More than a decade after Lillian’s sudden and controversial expulsion from school, Madison is married to a prominent Senator and Lillian still lives at home with her mother — so the last thing Lillian expects is a job offer from her old friend. The job: taking care of Madison’s stepchildren. The twist: there is something not quite right about these kids.
An instant New York Times Bestseller, the novel was named Best Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, People, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, TIME, The A.V. Club, Buzzfeed, and PopSugar.
Zagar previously demonstrated his knack for adapting popular literary material with We the Animals, his feature directorial debut, based on the novel by Justin Torres, which put him on the town’s radar. Starring Raúl Castillo, who’s part of the cast of the upcoming Task, the coming-of-age drama was critically acclaimed and won Zagar Sundance’s NEXT Innovator Award, also landing five Independent Spirit Award nominations, including Best First Feature. Zagar’s follow-up was the Adam Sandler basketball dramedy Hustle, another critically acclaimed effort which led Netflix’s Top 10 in its debut on the platform and brought Sandler a SAG Award nomination for his performance.
Zagar’s Task examines the showdown between a Task Force, headed up by an unassuming priest-turned-FBI-agent (Mark Ruffalo), and a family man (Tom Pelphrey) conducting a string of violent robberies in working class Philadelphia. The show is slated to premiere on September 7.
Zagar is represented by WME and Granderson Des Rochers. His co-writer, Reff, is repped by Haven Entertainment, UTA, and Gang, Tyre, Ramer.
