BBC to adapt JK Rowling detective novel

UK pubcaster the BBC is to drum up a TV drama adaptation of detective novels Harry Potter author JK Rowling wrote under the pen-name Robert Galbraith.

The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm novels, which follow detective Cormoran Strike, will be the base material for the crime drama, which Bronte Films will produce.

The BBC and UK indie Bronte Films, alongside US premium cabler HBO, are already working up a TV adaptation of Rowling’s novel A Casual Vacancy, which debuts in February 2015.

The BBC did not reveal the series length or a TV date, but the pubcaster’s director of television, Danny Cohen, said in a statement: “It’s a wonderful coup for BBC TV to be bringing JK Rowling’s latest books to the screen. With the rich character of Cormoran Strike at their heart, these dramas will be event television across the world.”

Rowling’s Warner Bros.-produced Harry Potter movies have grossed nearly US$8 billion worldwide.