EXCLUSIVE: A bombshell investigation into how fossil fuel companies blocked action to prevent climate change is being turned into a TV series.
David MacPherson, creator of Prime Video series The Rig, is teaming with The Spanish Princess producer New Pictures on an adaptation of Geoff Dembicki‘s The Petroleum Papers: Inside the Far-Right Conspiracy to Cover Up Climate Change.
Similar in scope to Hulu hit Dopesick, which was also based on a non-fiction work, the book draws on hundreds of confidential oil industry documents spanning decades, revealing how the fossil fuel industry joined forces with right-wing politicians to halt progress on preventing the climate crisis. Investigative journalist Dembicki tells the story of how American oil companies ignored warnings about climate devastation as early as 1959. Instead of alerting the world to act on an impending global disaster, the companies created advertising campaigns arguing that climate change wasn’t real and that alternatives to oil would be an economic disaster. The book also details those fighting back, such as the lawyer who brought Big Tobacco to its knees and turned his attention to Big Oil.
MacPherson will adapt for the screen. He has recently found success with Martin Compston-starrer The Rig, which launches Season 2 soon on Prime Video and is set on an oil rig.
New Pictures boss Willow Grylls and EP Imogen O’Sullivan said the TV show, which is yet to land a buyer, will build on Dembicki’s “powerful investigative journalism to create a multi-stranded drama which lays bare the decades-long conspiracy to block meaningful action on climate change in the pursuit of profit.”
“As Donald Trump is elected to his second term promising to ‘drill, baby drill’ this series couldn’t be more important, or more timely,” they added.
Dembicki said: “The story of how oil companies worked behind the scenes for decades to deny their role in climate change isn’t just one of the most enraging corporate cover-ups in modern history, it’s also a fascinating human saga of greed, denial and the power of truth-telling. I couldn’t be more thrilled that New Pictures is bringing it to the screen.”
All3Media-backed New Pictures makes the likes of Starz’ Spanish Queen, ITV’s The Long Shadow and the BBC-Netflix’s Champion. It recently struck a deal with Lupin showrunner George Kay’s Observatory Pictures.
