Adam McKay and his Big Short co-writer Charles Randolph are teaming up again.
Randolph will write a limited series in development at HBO about the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. The Oscar winner will also be an executive producer on the project, which McKay is executive producing via his Hyperobject Industries.
The untitled project has been in development since July 2020 — several months before vaccines against the novel coronavirus became available. Per the show’s logline, the drama will follow the companies and individuals putting everything on the line to save lives, the fascinating and surprising science that it is based on, and the challenges playing out around politics, access and safety.
The potential series is based on a pair of books: The First Shot by Brendan Borrell and A Shot to Save the World: The Inside Story of the Life-or-Death Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine by Gregory Zuckerman. The latter is a new addition to the project.
McKay and Randolph will executive produce with Hyperobject Industries’ Todd Schulman, Borrell and Zuckerman. The project is part of McKay’s lucrative overall deal at HBO.
Randolph’s screenwriting credits also include Bombshell, Love & Other Drugs and The Interpreter. He’s repped by CAA, Lighthouse Management & Media and Paul Hastings LLP.
