'56 Days' Series Adaptation Greenlighted By Prime Video From James Wan

EXCLUSIVE: Prime Video has given a series order to Obsession, a drama based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s international bestselling novel 56 Days. It hails from James Wan’s Atomic Monster as well as Amazon MGM Studios, which earlier today landed its most ever Golden Globe nominations, 16, ten of them for television.

Lisa Zwerling (The Rook, ER) and Karyn Usher (The Rook, Prison Break) are writers and executive producers of the series, a mix of a crime story and an erotic, psychological thriller. It follows Oliver and Ciara, who, after meeting randomly in a supermarket, fall for each other fast, and dangerously hard. Fifty-six days later, homicide investigators arrive at Oliver’s apartment to find an unidentified body—brutally murdered and intentionally decomposed. Did he kill her? Did she kill him? The series intercuts between an intense single day in the present investigation and the twisted trajectory of the young lovers’ affair in the past.

While the novel is set against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, with Ciara and Oliver meeting at the onset and moving in together during lockdown, the series will not be.

“It’s a privilege to be trusted by the ingenious Catherine Ryan Howard in adapting the engrossing story of 56 Days for the screen,” said Nick Pepper, head of U.S. SVOD wholly owned development, Amazon MGM Studios. “I have no doubt that the visionary team of James Wan, Lisa Zwerling, and Karyn Usher will transform this page-turner into a must-see original series for Prime Video subscribers around the globe.”

Zwerling and Usher executive produce Obsession with Wan, Michael Clear, and Rob Hackett via Atomic Monster, with Danielle Bozzone overseeing the series for the company. Irish author Howard will serve as co-executive producer. The series is produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Atomic Monster.

“We’re thrilled to collaborate with Karyn and Lisa on this propulsive and sexy thriller based on Catherine’s captivating novel,” Wan said. “Their vision for the series brings a fresh take for contemporary audiences, while still remaining true to the genre.”