Romance readers, rejoice! Yet another cult novel series is being adapted for television by Tomorrow Studios, and this time, audiences won’t just have one swoon-worthy hero to choose from, but six. The ITV Studios partnership has purchased the rights to Penny Reid’s The Winston Brothers series, a set of several novels following one family in rural Tennessee, to be adapted for television. The purchase involves a “multi-book deal”, according to Publishers’ Marketplace, meaning that the studio most likely has plans to give each brother their time to shine.
Reid announced the news herself on Twitter, via a blast from Publishers’ Marketplace, much to the delight of her fans. Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements (Physical, Snowpiercer) are set to executive produce for Tomorrow Studios, though the project has not found a home at any kind of streamer or network. (Though, given Adelstein and Clements’ past work, it’s possible that the romance series will end up at Apple TV+, alongside similarly homey favorites like Ted Lasso.)
The series, which includes seven primary books, three novellas, and two spinoff series, following the seven Winston siblings — six brothers and a lone sister — as they navigate complicated and sometimes bizarre romantic attachments in their small town of Green Valley, Tennessee, all while coping with the premature death of their mother, and the illegal schemes of their biker gang leader father. The books, including punny titles like Beard Necessities and the best-selling Dr. Strange Beard, were initially a spinoff of Reid’s Knitting in the City series, which began with Neanderthal Seeks Human back in 2013, though the much-beloved Winston brothers (including Beau, Duane, Jethro, Cletus, Roscoe, and Billy) didn’t make an appearance until the series’ fourth book, Beauty and the Mustache.
The Winston Brothers series was so successful that Reid was able to launch Smartypants Romance, a publishing imprint that allows new authors to write books set in the same universe as her books — that of Green Valley, the home of the bearded romantic heroes, as well as other universes, including Knitting in the City and Dear Professor. Other titles include the Green Valley Library series, penned by L.B. Dunbar and Nora Everly, among others, as well as the Donner Bakery books and Green Valley Heroes, including titles by Kilby Blades and Juliette Cross. Reid also continues to publish novels in the Winston Brothers canon, including the Solving for Pie murder mystery series and Good Folk, a series of modern folktales.
No casting plans or announcement of a network for The Winston Brothers have been revealed at this time. Check out Reid’s announcement below: