Entertainment One is tapping into the IP of its parent company, Hasbro, for its latest TV project.
The studio has teamed with House of Cards creator Beau Willimon to develop a series adaptation of the board game Risk. Willimon and Jordan Tappis’ production company, Westward, has also signed a multiyear, first-look TV deal with eOne.
“As we continue to build out eOne’s world-class content slate, we couldn’t think of more perfect partners than Beau and Jordan — whose award-winning storytelling and imagination are among the best in the business,” said Michael Lombardo, president global television at eOne. “In Beau, we’ve found an amazing combination of brilliant producer, singular creator, and avid fan of Risk. We can’t wait to work with him and the rest of the Westward team to reimagine that brand and so much more.”
Said Willimon and Tappis, “All of us at Westward are thrilled to join forces with eOne to bring to life some of the most successful IP in the marketplace as well as partner on our extensive slate of scripted television shows. We’re excited to develop Risk as our first project together.”
Risk, in which players aim for global conquest via war, strategy and diplomacy, has been perennially popular since its introduction in the late 1950s.
Willimon, president of the Writers Guild of America East, created Netflix’s House of Cards and served as showrunner for its first four seasons. He also created Hulu’s space drama The First and is an executive producer of Netflix’s Grand Army. Willimon and Westward are repped by Schreck Rose.
The Risk project, which doesn’t have a buyer yet, joins a roster of eOne productions that includes ABC’s The Rookie, The CW’s Burden of Truth, NBC’s Nurses and upcoming shows Cruel Summer on Freeform and Yellowjackets on Showtime.
