Ragesh Dipu
Elizabeth Banks teams up with WarnerMedia for the small screen adaptation of the Wondery podcast ‘Over My Dead Body,’ reports Variety. Banks will executive produce and direct the series which is set to the WarnerMedia streaming service. The popular podcast follows Dan and Wendi, two attorneys whose marriage caught headlines as a gala event. But when the ideal couple finds it hard to get along, the differences culminate into a bad breakup involving top-notch lawyers, lobbyists and even a murder case.
‘Over My Dead Body’ podcast tells the story of Dan Markel, a 33-year-old successful lawyer, who meets and falls in love with Wendi Adelson, a 26-year-old law student. The apparently “made for each other” couple ties the knot in a lavish Boca Raton wedding in 2006. They have two kids together before the family moves to Tallahassee for the benefit of Markel’s career. Their family life turns upside down when Wendi develops a chronic dislike for Tallahassee while Merkel is lost completely in his teaching career. The bitter divorce proceedings and custody battle that follow end up in a shocking murder.
‘Over My Dead Body’ host Matthew Shaer shared his excitement on Twitter on Thursday. He said that he’s “excited about this” project. He also added that “he’s hoping for a role as an extra.”
Excited for this one. Here’s hoping they let me and @elbenson be extras – I see us as befuddled gas station attendants in the Hallandale Beach arrest scene https://t.co/QfsDKtdtq7
— Matthew Shaer (@matthewshaer) June 5, 2019
Shaer earned widespread popularity when ‘Over My Dead Body’ podcast went on to become an instant hit for its unique take on marriage, divorce and revenge. The six-part series caught the top spot in Apple’s podcasting list. The huge success prompted the Wondery network to come up with the adaptation plan. Rave reviews earned by the true-crime television drama series ‘Dirty John‘ have also boosted the project.
Banks will executive produce the series through Brownstone Productions along with Wondery’s Hernan Lopez, Marshall Lewy, Max Handelman, and Dannah Shinder. But fans of the podcast will have to wait more than a year to watch the television series. Since the podcast is centered on the Dan Markel murder case and the legal battle that followed, the series can start only after the official wrap up of the court proceedings.
Banks has recently joined the cast of the upcoming FX limited series ‘Mrs. America‘ alongside Cate Blanchett. The nine-episode series is based on the Equal Right Amendment (ERA) movement during the ’70s. Banks reportedly plays the role of the progressive republican Jill Ruckelshaus who led the defense against the Stop-ERA Campaign led by the conservative leader Phyllis Schlafly (played by Blanchett). Banks also directs the upcoming ‘Charlie’s Angels‘ reboot, in which the actress also plays the role a Bosley.
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