David E. Kelley, the prolific American TV writer and producer, has scored a series order at NBCUniversal’s Peacock for a drama titled ‘The Missing’.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this eight-episode mystery, based on The Missing File by Israeli author Dror A. Mishani, will centre on an NYPD detective named Avraham Avraham, who begins to question his humanity when a seemingly routine investigation turns upside down. The project will be a co-production of Keshet Studios and Universal Television, with Kelley serving as showrunner, writer and executive producer.
“We are incredibly fortunate to bring this series to Peacock audiences led by iconic producer David E. Kelley, who has shepherded some of today’s most buzz-worthy dramas,” said Lisa Katz, president scripted content at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming.
Lisa further added, “We’re looking forward to partnering with Keshet Studios alongside Universal Television to bring this compelling, soulful mystery to life.”
Speaking about starring in the project, Kelly said, “I was riveted by Dror’s novels and the character of Avraham Avraham, and jumped at the opportunity to bring both to life.”
‘The Missing File’ is the first in a series of novels about Avraham Avraham, whose belief in mankind is his superpower when it comes to finding the truth. Mishani has published four books in the series so far, which have been translated into more than 20 languages.
“Our lead character, Avraham Avraham, is one we’ve never seen on TV before; his compassion and approach creates a wish fulfilment aspect to the show, something we believe could not be more timely, and is what TV needs right now. And we are very lucky that he is in the hands of David E. Kelley,” said Keshet Studios president Peter Traugott.
Kelley has placed series at a host of streamers in recent years, including Amazon’s Prime Video (‘Goliath’), Netflix (‘Anatomy of a Scandal’, ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’), Disney Plus (‘Big Shot’), Hulu (‘Nine Perfect Strangers’) and HBO Max (‘Love and Death’). He also executive produces ABC’s ‘Big Sky’ and wrote and executive produced HBO’s ‘Big Little Lies’.
Kelley will executive produce ‘The Missing’ with producing partner Matthew Tinker, Traugott, Keshet International’s Alon Shrutzman, Keshet Media Group’s Avi Nir and Keshet Broadcasting’s Karni Ziv.
