David Milch has signed a new multi-year exclusive television deal with HBO, his production home for the past eight years.
In addition to the new production pact with the premium cable giant, Milch’s Redboard Productions has also reached an agreement with the William Faulkner Literary Estate, covering 19 Faulkner novels and 125 short stories.
Milch and Lee Caplin, the executor of the William Faulkner Literary Estate and CEO of Picture Entertainment Corp., will be developing Faulkner properties as possible series, movie and miniseries projects with HBO holding an exclusive first opportunity to finance, produce and distribute.
“I”m delighted to expand my longstanding relationship with HBO to encompass the adaptation of some of the most important literary works by any American writer into television films and series,” Milch stated. “As we embark on this ambitious project, our first commitment is to serve the material, and we look forward to identifying and collaborating with the best screenwriters and filmmakers to help each of the pieces find its ideal form onscreen.”
Co-creator and winner of multiple Emmys for “NYPD Blue,” Milch’s HBO creations have included “Deadwood” and “John From Cincinnati.” Milch’s latest HBO production, the horse-racing drama “Luck,” which will have a special sneak preview of its pilot on December 11, before the series officially premieres on January 29.
“We are especially pleased to continue our longstanding relationship with one of the industry”s most talented contemporary writers,” states Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming. “We know that whatever David brings to the HBO table will be exciting and innovative.”