Oscar and Emmy winner Mahershala Ali has been cast in an eight-episode limited series from Endeavor Content, titled The Plot. The series is an adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name by Jean Hanff Korelitz. This is not the first novel to television series adaptation of a Korelitz story, as in 2020, HBO brought her book "You Should Have Known" to life with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant as The Undoing.
The Plot is listed as a psychological thriller about a once-promising young novelist-turned-professor struggling to maintain his self-respect. When Jacob Finch Bonner takes the opportunity to rise to fame once more by stealing the work of a late student, his life is changed forever. When an anonymous message alerts him to the fact that someone knows what he's done, there's no telling what Jake will do to protect his secret.
Ali also serves as an executive producer for the series along with Mimi Valdés and Amatus Karim Ali at their production company Know Wonder. The trio also produced the Ali-led feature film, Swan Song, which has received much critical acclaim. Valdés recently spoke about the lack of projects in Hollywood with "multidimensional Black characters," and "stories that simply focus on our humanity." Valdés went on to say, "we are beyond humbled to work with such an amazing team of collaborators to bring this incredible book to life."
The showrunner for The Plot will be Abby Ajayi, whose previous credits include Inventing Anna and How to Get Away with Murder. Ajayi shared that she's "thrilled to be adapting Jean's brilliantly compelling and thrilling novel, which hooked [her] from its opening pages." Ajayi went on to share her excitement over casting Ali in the lead role. "From the start, I knew that the peerless Marhershala Ali would be the perfect Jake. I'm excited by the nuance, the humanity, and the complexity he'll bring to the role."
After a fierce bidding war, the limited series has found its home at Disney's Onyx Collective. Tara Duncan, president of Freeform and Onyx Collective, shared her excitement about acquiring the series.
I was captivated with Hanff Korelitz's book, and Abby's distinct point of view rienvints the story in a way that spoke to me and our mission at Onyx Collective. There are so many interesting ang;es and nuances, that having the creati e genius that is Mahershala Ali at the center of this mystery is just a dream."
Alongside Ali, Valdes, and Ali at Know Wonder, The Plot is executive produced by Layne Eskridge and Kristen Campo who both played key roles in bringing the series to life. "When Kristen Campo sent me The Plot, I devoured it," said Eskridge. "Mahershala was our dream for the role."
The Plot will air on Hulu in the United States.