Fresh off his time spearheading the incredibly popular reboot of “Doctor Who,” writer-producer Steven Moffat has found his next major project, and time-traveling is still involved.
According to Deadline, HBO has ordered a series based on Audrey Niffenegger’s novel “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” with Moffat attached to write and executive produce. The novel, which spawned a 2009 film of the same name with Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana in the lead roles, revolves around the relationship between a husband and wife that is complicated by the husband’s penchant for time-traveling.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Steven Moffat, Hartswood and WBTV on ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife,’” said HBO programming president Casey Bloys. “Steven’s passion is evident in every project he’s written and we are certain that his love and respect for this mesmerizing and textured novel will make it a quintessential HBO series.”
“I read Audrey Niffenegger’s ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ many years ago, and I fell in love with it,” Moffat said. “In fact, I wrote a ‘Doctor Who’ episode called ‘The Girl In The Fireplace’ as a direct response to it. When, in her next novel, Audrey had a character watching that very episode, I realized she was probably on to me. All these years later, the chance to adapt the novel itself, is a dream come true. The brave new world of long form television is now ready for this kind of depth and complexity. It’s a story of happy ever after — but not necessarily in that order.”
As mentioned, Moffat is the man responsible for bringing “Doctor Who” back into the mainstream. But he’s also the mastermind behind BBC’s immensely popular “Sherlock” series, which starred Benedict Cumberbatch. Needless to say, the man has some serious credibility when it comes to creating popular TV. And on top of all that, Moffat has the distinct ability to handle a time-traveling protagonist, which not many writers can claim.
Interestingly enough, this isn’t the first time that “The Time Traveler’s Wife” was turned into a series. Back in 2009, the novel was optioned for a series by ABC but ultimately didn’t make it to air.
No word on an expected release date yet.