Simon Pegg and Nick Frost working on TV adaptation of fantasy series Rivers Of London

By Sam Barsanti  |  April 29, 2019 | 8:19pm
Aux Features TV
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost working on TV adaptation of fantasy series Rivers Of London
Photo: Kevin Winter

Together, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have been two-thirds of a brilliant filmmaking team, working with Edgar Wright on excellent genre parodies like Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, but for the next project that they’re leaving Wright, parodies, and film itself behind. According to Deadline, Pegg and Frost are working on a TV adaptation of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers Of London fantasy books. The series is about an “ordinary police constable” named Peter Grant who ends up as a magician’s apprentice and works to solve magic-themed crimes in London, with Deadline saying that the stories have a “blend of urban fantasy, mystery thriller, and fantasy caper.” The first book, known as Midnight Riot in the U.S., is about Grant working with “an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost” as he tries to solve a “puzzling murder.”

Frost is apparently a huge fan of Rivers Of London and was “chuffed to bits” at the chance to turn it into a TV show (we’re including that just to make it clear who British this all is), and he notes that everybody in the TV game is trying to find the next Game Of Thrones—implying that Rivers Of London could be it. Either way, he and Pegg are just happy that TV has grown to a point where creators can essentially make very long movies with some real financial support, and they’re excited to work in that space.

That’s about all we know at this point, including practical stuff like where and how viewers might be able to watch this, but producer Miles Ketley (who works with Pegg and Frost at their Stolen Picture production company) says it will be a “global series”—which makes it sound like the plan is to reach for a larger audience than just, say, people who get the BBC.

 
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