HBO: Greenlight for Waller-Bridge’s ‘Run’, Spanish original ‘Foodie Love’

HBO has given a series order to Phoebe Waller-Bridge comedy Run, written by her frequent collaborator Vicky Jones.

Run follows Ruby Dixie (Merrit Wever) as she lives a humdrum existence. One day she gets a text inviting her to fulfil a youthful pact promising true love and self-reinvention by stepping out of her life to take a journey with her oldest flame.

Waller-Bridge will have a recurring role as a character named Flick. She will executive produce the title along with Jones via their DryWrite banner – under which they developed the title with eOne.

Emily Leo of Wigwam Films and pilot director Kate Dennis will also exec produce.

Run is the first series order for HBO since WarnerMedia named former NBC head Bob Greenblatt the chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment.

HBO Europe set for Spanish Original Foodie Love from Isabel Coixet

Isabel Coixet is writing and directing her first series for television, Foodie Love, an original Spanish production for HBO Europe.

Coixet is the Spanish filmmaker behind internationally-recognised films including My Life Without Me (Berlin International Film Festival selection), The Secret Life of Words (Venice International Film Festival selection), Map of the Sounds of Tokyo (Cannes International Film Festival selection) and The Bookshop – winner of the Goya award for Best Film in 2018.

Foodie Love follows two thirty-somethings who meet on an app that finds couples among foodie lovers. Over several dates they’ll have to discover if their common devotion to Japanese yuzu or shared distaste for foodie pretension are enough to build the foundations of a lasting love story.

The eight-part series will be produced by Miss Wasabi Films and begins production in 2019.

Miguel Salvat, Steve Matthews and Antony Root are executive producers for HBO Europe.

Coixet said: “Foodie Love is the fusion of two of my passions: love stories and food. Two characters meet, separate, and come together again in a unique journey through cafes, bars and restaurants. In this tale of love, the lack of it, doubts, and food, two timid beings, strong, at times tormented, at times unconcerned, fight to understand and surrender to each other.

“Every single place that appears in the series and everything they eat is real. Their story is fiction. It is nourished by all the places I’ve visited and all the food I’ve tried. And many things I’ve lived.”

Antony Root, EVP of programming and production, HBO Europe, added: “We’re extremely honoured that Isabel is turning her talents to television with us for Foodie Love, a truly original and contemporary series with lots of heart. It’s a fantastic addition to our Spanish slate, which with a mix of genres, top local talent and resonant stories is shaping up to offer something extraordinary and surprising for audiences of all tastes.”