Kindle Entertainment buys TV rights to fishing thriller

Kindle Entertainment has acquired the TV rights to Nick Fisher’s debut novel Pot Luck (Peridot Press), a dark thriller set in a south coast fishing community.

Fisher, himself a BAFTA-winning TV scriptwriter, has teamed up with Joseph Wilde to adapt the novel into a six-part series. Wilde is currently adapting his own stage play "Cuddles" for the big screen after it was optioned by Nicole Kidman’s production company Blossom Films.

Pot Luck tells the story of two brothers working as commercial crab-fishermen off the south coast who make a surprise catch in a far-flung spot of the English Channel. A catch which gives them a chance to totally change their lives ­ or destroy them. As they battle with their consciences and each other, the brothers' choices lead them into increasingly sinister territory.

Pia Ashberry, head of development at Kindle Entertainment, which has nothing to do with Amazon which has an e-reader of the same name, said: "Nick Fisher has created a truly original and blackly comic world and cast of characters and we are delighted to have the opportunity to bring this to life for a TV audience."

Fisher has a diverse range of writing credits in film, radio, stage, journalism and books. He currently works as a core writer on BBC1’s primetime hospital drama "Holby City", for which he has written over 30 episodes. He is an expert in fishing and fish cookery, and has co-authored a number of River Cottage books with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. His first stage play, "Basket Case", starring Nigel Havers, toured 11 top regional theatres. Pot Luck is his first novel.

Fisher said: “The passionate enthusiasm expressed by Suzi McIntosh and Pia Ashberry from Kindle on reading Pot Luck was wonderfully intoxicating and refreshing. They got it immediately. And when we discussed the type of TV shows the source material could spawn ­ Fargo and Justified ­ I immediately came out in goosebumps.”

Jonathan Barnes, editorial director of Peridot Press, an imprint of John Catt Educational, said: “We were thrilled to publish Pot Luck last year. It’s a fantastic tale which is testament to Nick’s huge talent for story-telling. We are delighted that the TV rights have been optioned and can’t wait to see the seedy characters of Pot Luck brought to life on screen."