Burdess’ debut is optioned for TV by Calamity Films 

Calamity Films, the production company behind Academy-Award winning "Judy" with Renée Zellweger and Sky’s "Brassic", has optioned TV rights to Mother’s Day, the debut novel from screenwriter, actor and playwright Abigail Burdess. 

The independent London-based production company, which will adapt the novel into a TV limited series, acquired the rights from Millie Hoskins at United Agents. The novel will be published by Headline in hardback, trade paperback, e-book and audio in March 2023  to coincide with Mother’s Day in the UK and Ireland. 

Calamity founder David Livingstone said of Mother’s Day: “Abigail’s novel is one of those rare pieces of work that everyone at Calamity read and immediately connected to, and little wonder. Thrilling, engaging and viscerally exciting, it’s like a roller-coaster ride that just won’t stop. We can’t wait to get this to the screen.” 

Burdess has written for and acted in shows such as "Tracey Ullman’s Show" and "That Mitchell and Webb Look". Mother’s Day is about Anna, a young woman reconnecting with her biological mother just as she learns that she herself is pregnant. What follows is “a wickedly dark and caustically funny tale covering the entire spectrum of family dynamics from extreme generosity to callous manipulation and everything in between”.

Burdess said: “I’m absolutely made up to be working with Calamity Films. They’ve got fantastic form with both comedy and drama and a compelling vision for Mother’s Day. I’m very excited about the plans we have been hatching together."