E. Lynn Harris’ Invisible Life trilogy of novels is getting the TV treatment.
HBO has put in development a scripted drama series based on the 1990s novels about a young, gay and Black author who fashioned a deeply moving and compelling coming of age story out of the then-highly controversial issues of bisexuality and AIDS.
Harris David Rivers will pen the script and co-exec produce. Proteus Spann (Soul Food) and Tracey Edmonds (Soul Food, Games People Play) will exec produce.
Initially self-published by Harris in 1991 before being acquired by Anchor Books in 1994, the first novel in the trilogy follows a Black man’s journey of sexual discovery. The title is one of the Los Angeles Times’ top 20 classic gay titles in literature. Harris, who died in 2009, was openly gay and wrote 10 books that made the New York Times best-seller list. He ranks as one of the most successful gay authors of his era.
Invisible Life was followed by sequels Just as I Am and This Too Shall Pass.
The timing comes as HBO’s streaming counterpart, HBO Max, found critical and breakout success with its LGBTQ- and AIDS-themed limited series It’s a Sin, from Queer as Folk creator Russell T. Davies. HBO, meanwhile, is home to other LGBTQ-themed series including Betty and Euphoria.
Spann is repped by Intellectual Property Group and Rick Rosenthal. Edmonds is with WME. Rivers is with WME and Kaplan Perrone.
