Amazon MGM Studios Developing Matthew Quirk Thriller ‘The 500’ For TV; Andrew Sodroski Set As Showrunner

Matt Grobar
·2 min read

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon MGM Studios has launched development on The 500, a series adaptation of the novel from New York Times bestseller Matthew Quirk (The Night Agent), for which Andrew Sodroski (Manhunt) will serve as showrunner, writer and executive producer.

The show will watch as a former con artist is plucked from his Harvard Law School classroom to become an associate at Washington’s most high-powered consulting firm. Quickly pulled into a seductive, dangerous web of power and corruption, he struggles to find his way out.

More from Deadline

Published by Little, Brown and Company in 2014, The 500 marked the debut novel from Quirk, as well as the first in his Mike Ford series. David Weil and Natalie Williams will also exec produce the show under their overall deal with Amazon MGM Studios.

Known for thrillers exploring themes of espionage, government corruption, and covert operations, Quirk broke out with 2019’s The Night Agent, which was adapted into the hugely popular Netflix series from Shawn Ryan. Currently heading into its second season, the spy thriller starring Gabriel Basso came in as the streamer’s sixth-most-viewed series ever within a month of its debut.

Beginning his career as a journalist at The Atlantic, Quirk followed up The 500 with 2014’s The Directive. He’s also known for his John Hayes series, as well as such standalone novels as Hour of the Assassin, Red Warning and Inside Threat.

Heavily in demand these days, Sodroski most recently sold a pitch for an untitled law school thriller to Netflix, with 42 aboard to produce. Previously, he was tapped to script Mimi Cave’s suburban thriller Holland, Michigan, starring Nicole Kidman, Gael García Bernal and Matthew Macfadyen, for Amazon MGM Studios, a forthcoming title that 42 produced alongside Blossom Films.

Prior that, Sodroski wrote and executive produced two seasons of the true crime anthology series, Manhunt. The first season, Unabomber, earned him a WGA Award nomination, with the second, Deadly Games, coming in as the most-watched show on Netflix for several weeks, when it made its way there from Spectrum, with nearly a billion minutes streamed.

Sodroski is repped by 42, CAA and attorney David Fox.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next