Critical holds The Left Hand of Darkness

US producer Critical Content is developing a television version of Ursula K. LeGuin’s novel The Left Hand of Darkness as a limited series.

The book tells the story of a lone human emissary’s journey to an alien world where inhabitants have a complex and androgynous sexuality.

It was published in 1969 and a year later won the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel.

Critical’s Tom Forman, Andrew Marcus and Ray Ricord will executive produce the TV adaptation, with LeGuin serving as consulting producer.

Since launching out of the ashes of Relativity Television, Critical has produced dramas such as Young & Hungry for Freeform, Start Up for Crackle and Limitless for CBS.

Production companies are now regularly revealing details of option deals and development projects for scripted IP, as appetite for consumption high-end scripted drama continues to grow internationally.