The adaptation of Max Seeck’s bestselling novel in Jessica Niemi book series, The Faithful Reader, is moving forward as an international television series.  Paris-based powerhouse Mediawan and UK director Danny Cannon have come on board the English-language series. Danny Cannon, whose credits include the feature Judge Dredd, the CSI franchise, Gotham, and Pennyworth, will serve as lead director and executive producer. The news was first published by Screen Daily. Max Seeck is the first Finnish author whose novel is being adapted into a TV series in a Hollywood production.

Mediawan Rights will handle international sales and distribution and act as co-producer alongside Mediawan Finland. MTV Finland has joined as anchoring commissioner. This is the first series on which Stampede Ventures serves as the studio. CEO Greg Silverman and Amelia Mysko are executive producers alongside John-Paul Sarni, and Gudrun Giddings. Mediawan Finland will co-produce and oversee all physical production.

“I absolutely loved Max Seeck’s The Faithful Reader book series. Jessica Niemi is an incredible character that I cannot wait to cast,” said Cannon. “The complexity and dark, beautiful world of the books is something I am excited to realise.”

Benjamin Lepetit, Mediawan Rights head of acquisitions, said: “We are thrilled to be part of the adaptation of The Faithful Reader, a best-selling thriller with outstanding commercial potential. This project reflects our ambition to bring powerful stories to the screen alongside trusted partners and visionary talents such as Danny Cannon.”

The season will be based on the character-driven psychological thriller in which Seeck’s detective Jessica Niemi pursues a copycat killer and is forced to confront the past and uncover a dark ancestral secret. Niemi is a character in a series of Seeck’s books. The book was published in 2020 as The Witch Hunter in the US and UK, and in over 40 languages worldwide.

The Jessica Niemi television series has been developed in Los Angeles over the course of seven years.” We have worked tremendously hard together with American producers, screenwriters and the director, and it is fantastic to see the project now coming to fruition so brilliantly”, says Elina Ahlbäck, founder of Ahlbäck Agency, who signed an option agreement for Seeck’s book series with Stampede Ventures in 2019.

”The long-term work is bearing fruit, and I am very happy to hear from my agent Elina Ahlbäck that the Hollywood series about Jessica Niemi is moving forward with the acclaimed Danny Cannon attached as the director. I am looking forward to the exciting next steps!” Max Seeck says.

Ahlbäck Agency CEO Martti Berner sees significance in the project for both Finnish literature and the film and TV industry:” The development of Max Seeck’s The Faithful Reader into an English language television production is a great example of how stories by Finnish authors can find audiences and creators in international markets. The production of the TV series may also open opportunities for Finnish professionals in the audiovisual industry.”

Max Seeck is the most translated Finnish author of the 2020s and one of Finland’s most internationally successful authors. His works have been published in 41 languages. The Faithful Reader made it onto both the New York Times and Spiegel bestseller lists.

Seeck’s latest work, Guarded, the final book in the Milo series, was the No. #1 best-selling book in Finland in June-July. In Finland, Seeck’s books are published by Tammi.

Join the success story of FAITHFUL READER and click here to request the full English PDF. Rights are still available for example in Thailand and China.

The Witch Hunter

Max Seeck

A book-inspired serial killer is on the loose. Jessica Niemi – a detective with a mysterious past – steps up. A chase for the faithful reader has begun.

Detective Jessica Niemi is called to investigate a murder case that is out of ordinary. The wife of a famous writer, Roger Koponen, seems to have been killed in a bizarre ritual. As more ritual murders occur, it becomes obvious that Jessica is after a serial killer.
But the murders are not random – they follow a pattern taken from Roger’s bestselling trilogy. Has a fan gone mad, or is this case more personal? How can Jessica stop a criminal who knows every detail of the book even better than the author?

The Witch Hunter is the first book of the four part Jessica Niemi series.