Bestselling Author Michael Connelly Teams with Fuse Entertainment and Eric Overmyer to Bring Detective Harry Bosch to Television

LOS ANGELES, July 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Novelist Michael Connelly announced today that he has partnered with Fuse Entertainment and writer-producer Eric Overmyer to develop a television series featuring his venerable and bestselling character, LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch. 

Rights to the Bosch character, whose 18th appearance in a novel is scheduled for this November with The Black Box, had been held by Paramount since the mid 90s. Earlier this year, Connelly bought back the rights to his character so that he could pursue other opportunities.  He has now teamed up with Fuse Entertainment (Burn Notice, The Killing, The Good Guys) and showrunner Eric Overmyer (Treme, The Wire, Homicide: Life on the Street) to find Harry Bosch the best possible home on television.

"There is so much Bosch material available that I've felt for a long time that the best way to maintain the integrity of the character would be to take him to television where some of the best character stuff is being done right now. I love The Killing and I think teaming with Fuse and a writer of the quality and accomplishment of Eric is a fantastic combination," says Connelly.

One of the few remaining iconic properties available in Hollywood right now that has an enormous international fan base, Fuse Entertainment was thrilled by the prospect of teaming with Connelly and finally bringing Bosch to the screen.

Henrik Bastin, CEO of Fuse and the company's driving force behind the deal says: "I have been obsessed with Bosch for years. It is, in my mind, the ultimate cop and crime property. I always thought Harry deserved to be on television and with Michael's books and Eric's writing skills I am confident that we will deliver a very, very special show. Any fan of the books will love the series, of that I am sure. For me, doing something like this is why I got into this business!"

Fresh off his third year as writer-executive producer and co-creator for the Peabody award-winning and critically acclaimed HBO series, Treme, Eric Overmyer will be the project's showrunner and determine the best way of adapting the series of books which span twenty years with the LAPD homicide detective.

"I've been a Bosch fan and a Michael Connelly fan from the beginning.  Over the years I've read everything Michael's ever written.  Harry Bosch is one of the iconic characters of American crime fiction.  Cable television is the right venue for Michael's great series, and the opportunity to adapt it for the screen with Henrik and FUSE is thrilling. We have the chance to create something great," says Overmyer.

Overmyer, Bastin and Connelly will be executive producers of the show.

Fuse Entertainment, producers of Burn Notice and The Killing, and a subsidiary of Red Arrow Entertainment Group, will be working with SevenOne International, the distribution and sales arm of Red Arrow, to package the series as an international co-production with a U.S. network attached. Led by Jens Richter, SevenOne's international co-production and distribution highlights include Lilyhammer with Steven van Zandt and the recently announced Le Grand starring Jean Reno.

Bastin adds: "Seven One has a fantastic track record in this area and knows how to put these deals together. We are delighted to have them as our partners for the project. They bring a lot of expertise to the table and – just as important – they are true fans of Michael's books!"

#1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly has more than 55 million books in print around the world, with the Bosch stories accounting for most of them. He is also the author of the bestselling series of Lincoln Lawyer novels, the first of which was successfully adapted to film last year with The Lincoln Lawyer, starring Matthew McConaughey.

Connelly was represented in the deal by his longtime agent Joel Gotler at Intellectual Property Group and his attorney, Diane Golden, of Katz Golden Rosenman. Fuse Entertainment was represented by Ari Greenberg of William Morris Endeavor Entertainment and Jared Levine of Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein & Kohner. Eric Overmyer was represented by CAA in the negotiation.

SOURCE Hieronymus, Inc.