Teton Ridge Entertainment has landed the rights to literary franchise Lonesome Dove for future film and TV projects.
Development will begin with the first book in the series, Lonesome Dove, followed by the rest of the tetralogy, including Streets of Laredo, Dead Man’s Walk and Comanche Moon.
The deal was made between Teton Ridge Entertainment and Larry McMurtry’s estate. It covers all rights except publishing, which remain with the novels’ publisher, Simon and Schuster. Thomas Tull and Jillian Share from Teton Ridge Entertainment will produce, as will Jon Jashni, Curtis McMurtry and Diana Ossana.
Published by Simon & Schuster, Lonesome Dove reached huge commercial and critical success upon its release in 1986. On the New York Times Best Sellers list for 24 consecutive weeks in hardcover and 28 consecutive weeks in paperback, Lonesome Dove sold over 4 million copies, was translated in numerous languages and won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction before it was turned into a miniseries that was broadcast in 1989. Lonesome Dove, the miniseries, starred Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones and pulled in an estimated 26M viewers. The four-part adaptation won a Peabody, seven Emmys, two Golden Globes, two Television Critics Association Awards, and many other honors. The subsequent books in the Lonesome Dove series were adapted into additional successful award-winning miniseries.
Teton Ridge Entertainment, led by President Jillian Share, produces films and television series, both scripted and unscripted, that amplify the American West. Teton Ridge Entertainment is a division of Teton Ridge, which is ownedby TWG Global, a diversified holding company co-chaired by Mark Walter and Thomas Tull. The Lonesome Dove IP builds on TWG Global’s continued commitment to invest in properties that deliver long term value to a committed fan base. Thomas Tull has been the driving force in securing the Lonesome Dove IP.
The McMurtry Estate is represented by Craig Barker and Sally Helppie; Teton Ridge Entertainment by Vincent Chieffo and Steven Peña; and Ossana by Robert Thorne, UTA and Anonymous Content.
