Kennedy Ryan’s Hoops series of sports romance novels is headed to the small screen, Deadline reports.
Ryan’s book series began in 2018 with Long Shot, which follows Iris DuPree, a woman who is abused by her basketball player boyfriend, Caleb Bradley. She develops feelings for Bradley’s rival, August West. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus called the book “a sports romance that should be read by everyone who cares about women’s safety.” The series continued with the novels Block Shot and Hook Shot. A related novella collection, Hoops Shorts, was published in 2022.
Netflix is developing the series adaptation, which will be written by Adrian Dukes (All American, Motorheads). Dukes, Ryan, and retired NBA star Chris Paul are among the series’ executive producers.
Ryan’s 2022 novel, Before I Let Go, is also being developed as a series, with novelist Attica Locke (Bluebird, Bluebird) and her sister, actor Tembi Locke (Eureka, Sliders), acting as showrunners.
Ryan shared news of the Hoops adaptation on Instagram, writing, “All 3 books—Long Shot, Block Shot and Hook Shot—will be explored in the series. These books hold a very special place in my heart and in my catalogue. Long Shot made romance genre history and changed the shape of my career. This series is truly important to me and means so much to so many.…This is a PROCESS. We still have work to do. As more details are available, I will share. Thank you to all the readers who, through your support, continue to make these dreams come true!”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
