Stop the presses! According to Deadline, Paramount TV and Anonymous Content have optioned tenacious ace reporter Hilde Lysiak’s upcoming book series Hilde Cracks the Case for TV. Ms. Lysiak is the nine year old journalist and founder of Orange Street News.
Lysiak was the first person to report on a suspected murder in her hometown Selinesgrove, PA. She is the daughter of journalist Matthew Lysiak and fell in love with reporting, while accompanying her dad when he was working stories. The family landed a book deal with Scholastic, back in June. Hilde’s older sister, Isabel who serves as the paper’s photographer and editor, is also featured in the book series.
When Lysiak received a lot of criticism for covering a murder case (instead of “playing with dolls”), she didn’t take it lying down. Watch.
Give ’em heck, Hilde.
Deadline says:
Deadline was the first to report that Lysiak’s four-book series was sold to Scholastic, with the first book to be published in fall 2017. The books will be co-authored by Hilde and her father Matthew Lysiak, who is himself an accomplished journalist.
Paramount TV will serve as lead production studio and Anonymous Content’s Joy Gorman Wettels and Sharlene Martin of Martin Literary & Media Management are Executive Producing.
Paradigm and Del Shaw brokered the Paramount TV deal during a competitive auction on behalf of the Lysiak family and Martin.
Here is more, from Variety:
“I sat behind Hilde and her family at the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards when she was honored and was blown away by this brave little change maker who believes kids should be taken seriously, seek the truth and have a real voice,” said Gorman Wettels. “As producers and parents, we aspire to create content that can have a positive impact. With a hero like Hilde and the support of Amy Powell and her team at Paramount, we intend to make a show that kids can be empowered by.”
“When we first learned about Hilde and what she was accomplishing at just 9 years old, we knew her stories would make an impact on youth across the country, showing them what they can accomplish if they set their mind towards a goal,” said Paramount TV president Amy Powell. “One of the best parts of our job is working with young talent and, along with our partners at Anonymous Content, we’re excited to create a series based on Hilde’s fresh voice and real-life sleuthing.”
According to reports, Lysiak will not star in the project. Smart girl.
What do you think? How do you like the sound of a Hilde Cracks the Case TV series? Who would you cast as Hilde?