‘Folktellers: Excerpts from an Unknown Guidebook’ Heads to TV

Season one will be based on the first three books of the series.

January 25, 2021

Author Josef Bastian has teamed with a new creative team to bring his young adult fantasy book series, “Folktellers: Excerpts from an Unknown Guidebook,” to television.

Writer and producer Peter Mohan, whose credits include “Orphan Black” for BBC America, “The Hardy Boys”

for Hulu, “The Listener”

for FOX/ION/CTV and “Mutant X” for Tribune, will serve as executive producer and showrunner. Former Gaumont executive Vanessa Shapiro (Amazon Prime’s “El Presidente”) will also serve as executive producer and handle global distribution under her company, Nicely Entertainment.

“I’m thrilled to have gathered together this team of accomplished executives to bring ‘Excerpts from an Unknown Guidebook’ to the screen,” says Josef Bastian, founder, Folktellers. “The fantasy and folklore genres are extraordinarily popular because of their iconic characters, beautifully crafted worlds, and imperfect protagonists that offer a compelling balance between imagination and reality. Our series will deliver action

and adventure as our heroes travel from dimension to dimension trying to stop the Shadows from carrying out their destructive plans, and will deliver humor, romance with the complicated interactions of our characters as they try to deal with growing up, saving their worlds, and staying alive at the same time.”

Mohan and Shapiro will work together with Bastian and Scott Paskoff— who also serves as executive producer —to develop the eight-book story arc into a live-action series for kids ages 8–12 years old. Season one of the series will be based on the first three books.

“Nicely Entertainment is thrilled to be part of such an amazing franchise and book series and I look forward to working closely with Josef, Peter and Scott to bringing this IP to a global audience,” says Vanessa Shapiro, chief executive officer, Nicely Entertainment. “The adventure and moral complexity of ‘Excerpts from an Unknown Guidebook’ offer a multi-generational appeal. Younger viewers will tune in for magic and adventure, while older teens and adults will be attracted to the complicated interplay between Aaron, his friends and family.”

The show is yet to be filmed.

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