Studio Crook wins TV rights to When The Sky Falls

The British Book Award-winning novel When The Sky Falls (Andersen Press) is being adapted for television by its author Phil Earle. Justine Potter, Studio Crook’s head of scripted development, acquired television rights to the book from Jen Thomas at United Agents.

Earle has already written a pilot script based on the book, which explores the unlikely friendship that develops between a young boy and an ape during the Second World War. Studio Crook will take the pilot script to prospective partners for optioning.

On writing the script, Earle said: “When The Sky Falls seems to have connected with people of all ages. It’s sold incredibly well in the UK, won many awards and been translated around the world, and while all of this is flattering and gratifying, the thing that matters most is that people have responded to the truth of the story.

"In adapting the novel for TV, I’ve allowed myself the space and imagination to expand upon the world of the novel for older and younger characters alike.”

Potter said of the option: “What appealed to Studio Crook is the broad universal family appeal and contemporary resonance of When the Sky Falls.”

The news comes as Andersen Press prepares to publish the third in Earle’s Second World War collection of novels, Until the Road Ends, to be released in paperback in June 2023.