A series adaptation of Carl Hiaasen’s novel Skinny Dip is in the works at its fourth home in six years – this time with Amanda Seyfried attached to star.
Amazon is now developing the series, which comes from Once Upon A Time creators Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, as well as Bill Lawrence. Earlier this year, HBO Max was developing the book but passed.
Seyfried, who is coming off Peacock miniseries Long Bright River and is currently promoting Paul Feig feature The Housemaid, will star as Joey Perrone in the adaptation of the book, which tells the story of a woman who is pushed off a cruise liner by her marine scientist husband but survives and plots revenge with a former cop.
Per the logline, Perrone’s second anniversary didn’t go quite as planned. She expected earrings, but instead, her husband Chaz had alternate plans. After unexpectedly finding herself on the other side of those plans, she vows to get revenge. Teaming up with a disgraced ex-cop, Joey sets out to make Chaz pay.
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The one-hour dramedy is produced by Warner Bros. Television with Lost exec producers Horowitz and Kitsis writing and exec producing. Lawrence is exec producing via his Doozer shingle, which has an overall with the studio, alongside Jeff Ingold and Liza Katzer. Seyfried and Hiaasen also exec produce.
It’s been a long road for Skinny Dip. In 2011, HBO was developing an adaptation with Michael Keaton as an exec producer. The CW piloted it in 2018, from Russel Friend and Garrett Lerner with Parks and Recreation’s Sarah Wright Olsen as Joey but it was not picked up to series. A year later, Quibi took a crack with the same creative team. Earlier this year, Max was developing the series with Horowitz, Kitsis and Lawrence attached.
It is one of a number of Hiaasen projects currently on air and in the works. Lawrence produces Bad Monkey, an adaptation of Hiaasen’s eponymous 2013 novel, for Apple with Vince Vaughn starring that has been renewed for a second season. ABC is also set to premiere RJ Decker, starring Scott Speedman from Elementary creator Rob Doherty, based on Hiaasen’s 1987 novel Double Whammy, in midseason.
Lawrence has talked up his love of Hiaasen’s books. He told Deadline last year, “Carl Hiaasen is a hero of mine, I started reading his books when I was like 15.”