HBO Has Found Its Next Hit Thriller Series, and It’s From the Creator of 3 Sci-Fi Masterpieces

HBO is once again investing in a high-concept series, and the network is tapping one of television’s most successful creators to make it happen. An official press release from Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that Damon Lindelof (HBO’s Watchmen, The Leftovers, LOST) has been given a straight-to-series order to showrun, write, and executive produce The Chain, a new limited series based on Adrian McKinty’s acclaimed New York Times bestselling novel from 2019. Edgar Wright (The Running Man) almost got a film adaptation of the book off the ground (starring Emma Stone no less), but that fell apart in the early 2020s. Now, HBO is taking a crack at it.

While show details are being kept under wraps, it’s being teased that Lindelof will take a similar approach to the material as he did with Watchmen: not so much a straight adaptation, but rather Lindelof will reportedly be “expanding the mythology of McKinty’s award-winning thriller,” which is a wild choice, if you know the dark world of McKinty’s book.

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The Chain will be the first project in a two-year overall deal HBO signed with Lindelof last September. According to the announcement, the show’s pilot story “is by Damon Lindelof, Carly Wray, and Breannah Gibson, with Lindelof and Wray writing the pilot script. Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer serve as executive producers for Media Res, the co-studio behind the series. Shane Salerno serves as executive producer,” as will author Adrian McKinty.

“From the moment I heard the wild and original premise of Adrian’s book, I was shocked, surprised and angry I hadn’t thought of it myself,” Lindelof said in a statement. “I’ve always wanted to try to adapt a great thriller and this one has all the dark, weird, exhilarating touches that fire up my imagination. I feel so fortunate to reteam with Francesca, Casey and Michael, who first brought me to HBO fifteen years ago and I can’t wait to make The Chain a memorable link in their outstanding legacy.”

What Will HBO’s The Chain Be About?

The Chain (novel) tells the story of twisted circuit of kidnappings, in which parents (or a parent) have their child taken, and then recieve instructions that they must both pay a ransom and kidnap a different child, in order to keep “The Chain” going. The story centers on a divorced mom named Rachel, whose daughter, Kylie is abducted as part of The Chain. Rachel looks to her former brother-in-law, Pete, for help, as they must navigate the moral decision about whether or not to participate in The Chain, or find some way to break it and discover who’s behind the sick game, without Kylie pay the price.

McKinty’s book does reveal backstory for The Chain, who is behind it, and how the “game” first began – but it is definitely lore that could be expanded or tweaked for the TV series. There’s also the question of format: The Chain already feels like it take the same approach as Weapons, with different episodes telling story vignettes from the perspectives of different parents, kids being kidnapped, those behind the game, etc.

With Lindelof onboard, the structure almost certainly won’t be straightforward linear, as Watchmen and LOST both proved. However, it’s Lindelof’s work on The Leftovers that may be most relevant here; that show was centered on same main characters but also incorporated the stories of many supporting characters in exploration of a massive, mysterious phenomenon. Character arcs will be key in The Chain, as one family’s desperate situation inevitably affects another family in a continuing cycle of trauma and desparation. Each parent and child character will end their place in The Chain changed, forever, if they survive at all. That will be compelling TV to watch, and a snug 8-episode run is perfect for Lindelof to craft a complete storyline like Watchmen, that won’t overstay its welcome or meander in focus (like LOST).

The Chain is in development at HBO.