Blink49 Studios & Eleven partner to co-produce ‘If We Were Villains’ adaptation

M.L. Rio. Pic credit: Cait Brady

Canada’s Blink49 Studios has partnered with Sex Education producer Eleven on a new series based on the by M.L. Rio novel If We Were Villains.

If We Were Villains follows seven young Shakespearean actors at an elite college where competition is fierce, rivalry is dangerous, and the line between life and art is dangerously thin. When tragedy strikes in their final year and one of the seven turns up dead, the others face their greatest acting challenge yet: persuading the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.

The TV adaptation will be co-produced by Blink49 Studios and Eleven, with executive producer Jamie Campbell and co-executive producer Jennifer Pick of Eleve;, Carolyn Newman and Virginia Rankin of Blink49 Studios; M.L. Rio, producer Christopher Maring of CM Stage Productions, Andrew Williamson, Henrik Meyer, and Enuka Okuma.

Blink49 Studios is a joint venture with Fifth Season (formerly Endeavor Content) as its primary investor and strategic partner. It was founded in November 2021 by CEO John Morayniss, executive vice chair Patrice Theroux, COO Jeff Lynas and CFO Nelson Kuo-Lee

These latest adaptation plans follow its acquisition of the rights to adapt Charlene Carr’s Hold My Girl and Marissa Stapley’s novel Things To Do When It’s Raining.

The firm also recently launched a new unscripted division, to develop a slate of non-fiction entertainment for the Canadian and global markets, headed up by former Entertainment One execs Toby Dormer and Allison Brough.