J.D. Barker’s 4MK series of thrillers is headed to the small screen, Deadline reports.
Sylvester Stallone is executive producing a series based on Barker’s novels, which feature Sam Porter, a Chicago detective on the trail of a serial killer terrorizing the city. The trilogy began in 2017 with The Fourth Monkey and continued with The Fifth to Die (2018) and The Sixth Wicked Child (2019). A critic for Kirkus wrote of the first installment in the series, “Wipe away all the blood and you’re left with a dull, unsurprising serial killer tale.”
A prequel trilogy to the original three books will launch in September with publication of The First Scarlet Door.
Stallone, the actor known for iconic films including Rocky and Rambo, will executive-produce the series through his company Balboa Productions. The showrunner and writer for the series will be Channing Powell, who has written for the shows White Collar and The Walking Dead.
Stallone said in a statement, “J.D. Barker has created a world with enormous scale, real danger, a ruthless narrative engine, and the kind of mythology that is tailor-made for premium television. Channing Powell is not only a powerhouse writer and producer, but a true creator with a rare command of dark, character-driven storytelling, and she is exactly the right force to bring 4MK to the screen.”
And Barker said, “With this creative force, 4MK won’t just be gripping television, it will be the kind of series that gets under people’s skin and stays there. I couldn’t be more excited to see it come to life.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
