Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan series of crime novels is getting a television adaptation, Deadline reports.
Lippman first introduced readers to Monaghan, a Baltimore woman who became a private investigator after her career as a journalist stalled, in the 1997 novel Baltimore Blues. She has since written 11 more books featuring the character, most recently Hush, Hush, published in 2015.
Tomorrow Studios is developing the series, which will be written by Lippman and fellow novelist Megan Abbott (You Will Know Me, Give Me Your Hand). Abbott is also writing the upcoming series adaptation of Alexis Soloski’s Here in the Dark.
Two of Lippman’s standalone novels have been adapted for the screen before. Every Secret Thing was made into a 2014 movie directed by Amy Berg and starring Diane Lane, Elizabeth Banks, and Dakota Fanning, and Lady in the Lake formed the basis of a 2024 miniseries starring Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram.
Tomorrow Studios’ Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, and Alissa Bachner said in a statement, “Tess Monaghan is an iconic character, and we are thrilled that Laura has entrusted us to help tell her story. We couldn’t imagine a better team than Laura and Megan, both masters of crime storytelling, to bring this series to life.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
