Black Bear Television has announced they have optioned the rights to New York Times best-selling author Mary Kubica’s Local Woman Missing, ahead of the novel’s much-anticipated release in May 2021. Park Row will publish the novel, following Kubica’s previous best-selling works includingThe Good Girl, The Other Mrs., and Pretty Baby. Black Bear Television, the TV studio division of award-winning production and financing company Black Bear Pictures (The Imitation Game, Mudbound, Suburbicon, upcoming I Care a Lot), will develop and produce Local Woman Missing as a premium television series, adding to Black Bear TV ‘s ever expanding slate of voice-driven dramatic and genre fare. Black Bear will executive produce alongside Kubica.
A gripping female-driven mystery told through different perspectives and timelines, Local Woman Missing tells the story of three missing women from the same town whose disappearances have remained unsolved until one day over a decade later when one of the victims shockingly returns home. Where she’s been, what’s happened to the others, and who is responsible are all questions that will be answered in this shocking and unforgettable thriller.
Black Bear’s Head of TV Ben Stillman said: “We’ve long been fans of Mary’s work and are incredibly excited to bring her newest thriller Local Woman Missing to the screen. Mary seamlessly combines pulp, thrills, and drama in this wonderfully written book. Driven by a rich ensemble of complex characters, this story is bold in its use of perspective and time and is filled with smart and unexpected twists. We are absolutely thrilled to develop this material into an entertaining and memorable series.”
Author Mary Kubica added: “I could not be more thrilled that Local Woman Missing has found a home with Black Bear Television. Their enthusiasm for this novel, combined with incredible talent and vision, makes it a perfect fit.”
Described as “a writer of vice-like control,” (Chicago Tribune), with novels lauded as “hypnotic” (People) and “thrilling and illuminating” (Los Angeles Times), Kubica is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author known for novels including The Other Mrs., optioned for feature film by Netflix ahead of its 2020 publishing; The Good Girl, previously optioned by Grey Matter; Pretty Baby; Don’t You Cry, Every Last Lie, and When the Lights Go Out.
The deal was brokered by Michael Heimler of Black Bear Television and Shari Smiley of 3 Arts Entertainment on behalf of Kubica.
