Carl Hiaasen’s Skinny Dip is headed to the small screen, with Amanda Seyfried attached to star, Deadline reports.
Hiaasen’s comic thriller, published in 2004 by Knopf, follows Joey Perrone, a woman who survives an attempted murder at the hands of her crooked scientist husband but pretends to be dead in an attempt to expose him. A critic for Kirkus praised the book as “bitingly satirical, sublimely zany, and deeply satisfying.”
Seyfried, known for her work in series including Big Love, The Dropout, and Long Bright River, will play Joey in the series, which is now being developed by Amazon (it was previously attached to HBO Max). Seyfried and Hiaasen are among the series’ executive producers.
Hiaasen’s books have been adapted for the screen before. His 1993 novel, Strip Tease, formed the basis for the 1996 film Striptease starring Demi Moore and Armand Assante, and his 2002 children’s book, Hoot, was adapted into a 2006 movie with Luke Wilson, Logan Lerman, and Brie Larson.
One series based on Hiaasen’s 2013 novel, Bad Monkey, starring Vince Vaughn, is still on the air, while a series adaptation of his 1987 book, Double Whammy, titled RJ Decker, is scheduled to premiere next year.
Hiaasen shared news of the Skinny Dip adaptation on Instagram, writing, “The late, great Mike Nichols was the first to option Skinny Dip when it came out, and it’s always been one of my favorites. Amanda Seyfried is perfect for the role of Joey, though I hope my friend [executive producer] Bill [Lawrence] doesn’t make her dive off a cruise ship in the opening scene.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
