‘The Act’ Co-creator, UCP Land Rights to Jan Broberg Abduction Saga

The story of Jan Broberg — who as a child was abducted twice by the same person — has already been the subject of a feature documentary, and now it’s getting a scripted treatment.

In a competitive situation, Universal Content Productions (part of NBCUniversal Content Studios) has landed the rights to Broberg’s story. The Act co-creator Nick Antosca will write and executive produce a limited series based on the stranger-than-fiction story. No outlet is attached yet.

The untitled project will follow the bizarre saga of the Broberg family, whose oldest daughter, Jan, was abducted twice in the 1970s by a charismatic, obsessed family “friend.” The Brobergs — devoted to their faith, family and community — were utterly unprepared for the sophisticated tactics their neighbor used to exploit their vulnerabilities, drive them apart and turn their daughter against them. The series will tell the story of how their lives were permanently altered, and how they survived.

The story is the subject of the book Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story, written by Jan Broberg and her mother Mary Ann, and the documentary Abducted in Plain Sight, which streams on Netflix. 

Antosca, who has an overall deal at UCP, is writing and executive producing via his Eat the Cat banner. Alex Hedlund of Eat the Cat is co-exec producer, and Jan and Mary Ann Broberg are producers. Skye Borgman of Top Knot Films, who directed and produced Abducted in Plain Sight, is a consulting producer.

Hulu’s The Act, co-created by Antosca and Michelle Dean, scored Emmy and Golden Globe wins for Patricia Arquette’s performance and nominations for both for lead actress Joey King. Antosca, who created Syfy’s anthology Channel Zero, is currently serving as co-showrunner on Brand New Cherry Flavor at Netflix and will produce Syfy’s Chucky series. All four shows come from UCP.

Antosca is repped by Ginsburg Daniels. 

The Broberg story joins a roster of UCP projects that also includes the historical anthology Bad Girls and the true-crime anthology The Resort from Sam Esmail and Palm Springs writer Andy Siara. The studio also produces USA’s The Sinner, The Purge, Treadstone and Dirty John; Syfy’s Resident Alien; and Netflix’s Umbrella Academy, among others. 

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