Millicent Simmons will lead an adaptation of Sara Nović’s novel about a Deaf teen coming of age.
Today in exciting literary adaptation news: Millicent Simmonds, the breakout star of John Krasinski’s 2018 horror movie A Quiet Place and its 2020 sequel, is leading a TV adaptation of novelist and Deaf rights activist Sara Nović’s upcoming book True Biz—”a coming-of-age story of a Deaf teenage girl struggling to access spoken language, and the hearing CODA (child of deaf adults) headmistress of a boarding school for deaf students, both of whom live in a blue-collar town in the present-day Midwest.”
True Biz, which will be published by Penguin Random House in March of 2022, is Nović’s follow-up to her acclaimed 2015 novel Girl at War— the story of a ten-year-old girl whose life is upended by the civil war that resulted in the dissolution of Yugoslavia.
In what will be a milestone for Deaf representation on television, not only will Simmonds and Nović executive produce True Biz, but the studio and producers have committed to hiring Deaf and hard of hearing individuals to fill many of the creative and leadership roles across the writing and production of the series.
“As soon as I read True Biz, I knew I had to jump at the chance to collaborate with a Deaf creator on a project with an authentic and fresh perspective of the Deaf community and am equally excited to portray a deaf teenage protagonist never before seen on screen,” said Simmonds of the project.
Nović, meanwhile, commented: “I am thrilled to be working with such a talented team to bring True Biz to life onscreen. The opportunity to share authentic Deaf stories with viewers has been a long-held dream.”
[h/t Deadline]
