Deadline reports that Netflix has secured the rights to Hurt People, a legal thriller spec script from Monarch creator Melissa London Hilfers. While specific plot details remain under wraps, the project—written during last year’s writers’ strike—marks Hilfers’ fifth feature spec sale to date. No casting announcements have been made yet, with no actors currently attached to the project.
The film will be produced by Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter under their Berlanti/Schechter Films banner. Hilfers, a former litigator at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, has a strong affinity for legal stories, often bringing her experience with the law to her writing. She first broke onto the scene with Undone, a legal thriller described as Gone Girl meets Primal Fear, which sold to Parkes + MacDonald and Black Bear in a competitive bidding situation. Her follow-up, Unfit, a Supreme Court drama based on the real-life case Buck v. Bell, was sold to Amazon Studios. She also adapted the ’80s legal thriller Jagged Edge for Sony.
Berlanti and Schechter are no strangers to high-profile productions, having recently worked on Fly Me to the Moon, a NASA-set romance starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, which Berlanti directed. They also produced Netflix’s Atlas, a sci-fi action film starring Jennifer Lopez, and the hit queer rom-com Red, White & Royal Blue, which was a major success for Prime Video.
Among their upcoming projects is Sasha, a psychological thriller that reunites them with Johansson, and was recently won by Amazon MGM Studios in a competitive auction, according to Deadline.
As of now, Hurt People remains in early development with no casting news, but industry insiders are eager to see which actors will be brought on board. Hilfers is represented by UTA, Entertainment 360, and McKuin Frankel Whitehead.