Roxane Gay Comic The Banks in Development as TV Series

Roxane Gay’s graphic novel The Banks is being adapted for television. On Wednesday, it was announced that TKO Studios and New Regency are developing a series based on the graphic novel created by gay and artist Ming Doyle. Gay will write the adaptation, according to Deadline. The Banks tells the story of the women of the Banks family, the most successful thieves in Chicago who find themselves having to band together during the heist of a lifetime to avenge a loved one taken too soon. 

This isn’t the first news of an adaptation of The Banks. Back in August 2020 it was announced that TKO Studios has partnered with media company Macro for a film adaptation of The Banks. At the time, Gay said she was “thrilled” to revisit the world of The Banks. Then, last fall, it was announced that TKO Studios had signed a deal with New Regency to develop television projects from TKO’s library of comics and graphic novels. 

“TKO is proud to partner with New Regency,” said Salvatore Simeone and Tze Chun in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter at the time. “Their track record creating groundbreaking film and television aligns with our history of publishing critically acclaimed thought-provoking genre stories. We feel our companies’ combined strengths make an ideal partnership and forges a new model for TV adaptation that will benefit all parties, including our incredible creators.”  

In addition to writing the script for The Banks, Gay is the author of several books, including Ayiti, An Untamed State, Bad Feminist, Difficult Women, and Hunger as well as the author of Marvel’s World of Wakanda. We reviewed The Banks graphic novel back in 2020, calling it “a fresh, engrossing multi-generational Robin Hood tale with a feminist twist.” 

“The dialogue in the comic is especially excellent—to the point that it almost reads more like a standard prose novella than a comic—but Doyle’s art with Bellaire’s colors is just so good (no surprise to reader’s familiar with their work),” our review reads. “The pair brought a similar style to The Kitchen with similar success. It adds depth and realism to the story that enhances the entire experience. You can see the pain on Clara’s face, the love in Cora’s eyes, the internal struggle Celia feels as she tries to figure out her own place in this story.”

You can read our full review of The Banks graphic novel for yourself here.

New Regency’s current upcoming television projects include a take on their 2005 film Mr. and Mrs. Smith for Prime Video and the Apple TV+ series The Crowded Room starring Tom Holland.

Are you excited for The Banks to be adapted for television? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.