Jenna Bush Hager and her UCP-based banner are developing a series adaptation of Jamie Ford’s novel The Many Daughters of Afong Moy.
The co-host of Today with Hoda & Jenna and daughter of former President George W. Bush will exec produce the adaptation with Ben Spector, who is president of film and television at the banner, which has a first-look deal at Universal Studio Group. Ford will consult.
The book, which was published earlier this month, tells the story of Dorothy Moy, who breaks her own heart for a living; as Washington’s former poet laureate, that’s how she describes channeling her dissociative episodes and mental health struggles into her art. But when her 5-year-old daughter exhibits similar behavior and begins remembering things from the lives of their ancestors, Dorothy believes the past has truly come to haunt her. Fearing that her child is predestined to endure the same debilitating depression that has marked her own life, Dorothy seeks radical help.
Through an experimental treatment designed to mitigate inherited trauma, Dorothy intimately connects with past generations of women in her family. As painful recollections affect her present life, Dorothy discovers that trauma isn’t the only thing she’s inherited. A stranger is searching for her in each time period. A stranger who’s loved her through all of her genetic memories.
It is the latest book adaptation for Bush Hager; she is developing an adaptation of Kirk Wallace Johnson’s The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century, which Wallace Johnson is adapting with Universal International Studios.
“I am beyond excited to be working with Jenna Bush Hager, Ben Spector and UCP to develop Many Daughters into a series,” said Ford. “Jenna comes from a long line of book lovers and is a tireless advocate for books, literature and story. I can hardly think of anyone better to extend that passion into TV. Plus, my Chinese grandfather was an extra in Hollywood in the ’30s and ’40s, appearing in 300+ movies. I just know he’s smiling right now.”
Hager and her company are represented by UTA.
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