HBO lands Moffat’s The Time Travelers Wife

HBO has landed a drama adaptation of The Time Travelers Wife produced by Steven Moffat (Dr.Who).

The novel turned movie is authored by Audrey Niffenegger and is described as a magical love story about Clare and Henry who have a marriage with a problem…time travel.

Moffat, Sue Vertue and Brian Minchin will all executive produce through their jointly-owned Hartswood Films. The company will produce in association with Warner Bros. Television, which has rights to the title.

Warner Bros. was behind the 2009 film adaptation of the novel, which starred Rachel McAdams. The title was also developed by ABC in 2009 with Friends creator Marta Kauffman.

“I read Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife many years ago, and I fell in love with it,” Moffat said. “In fact, I wrote a Doctor Who episode called ‘The Girl in the Fireplace’ as a direct response to it. When, in her next novel, Audrey had a character watching that very episode, I realised she was probably on to me.

“All these years later, the chance to adapt the novel itself, is a dream come true. The brave new world of long-form television is now ready for this kind of depth and complexity. It’s a story of happy ever after — but not necessarily in that order.”

HBO programming president Casey Bloys said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Steven Moffat, Hartswood and WBTV on The Time Traveler’s Wife. Steven’s passion is evident in every project he’s written and we are certain that his love and respect for this mesmerizing and textured novel will make it a quintessential HBO series.”