EXCLUSIVE: Kim Kardashian‘s foray into film and TV continues with another high-profile sale, this one hitting close to home for the reality star and entrepreneur. After a competitive bidding that went through the week, sources tell Deadline that Netflix has landed for development Calabasas, a TV series which Kardashian is executive producing with her American Horror Story co-star Emma Roberts, Pretty Little Liars creator I. Marlene King and Alexandra Milchan (Tár). Insiders say there were two other offers from major buyers with Netflix putting in the winning bid by week’s end.
Calabasas is based on the book If You Lived Here You’d Be Famous By Now by Via Bleidner, with King set to write the adaptation and serve as showrunner.
In the vein of The O.C. and Beverly Hills 90210, Calabasas follows Via, a 16-year-old sheltered Midwestern Catholic school girl whose world is turned upside down when her family moves and she’s forced to transfer to the fast world of Calabasas High where nothing is as it appears and where everyone is trying to be someone else. It’s a place where dreams come true … but not without complications and sometimes unforeseen consequences.
Kardashian is executive producing with King and her partner Lauren Wagner via Long Lake Media, Belletrist Productions’ for Roberts, Karah Preiss and Matt Matruski as well as Milchan, who had the rights to her book, through her Crescentline banner.
The project quickly started coming together after King pitched to Milchan her series idea and came on as writer/showrunner. WME, who reps Kardashian and King, teamed them up with Kardashian’s AHS co-star Roberts joining soon after. The group began taking meetings with offers following soon thereafter.
Kardashian and her family made the town of Calabasas a name known worldwide so her involvement elevated the package in a big way. This marks her fourth high-profile project to sell since the strike ended, with the previous three being the features Fifth Wheel, which also went to Netflix with her attached to star, and an untitled thriller to Amazon as well as another starring vehicle, a legal drama series for Hulu, a collaboration with AHS co-creator/executive producer Ryan Murphy.
This marks a reunion for Kardashian for Roberts, who recently worked together on American Horror Story: Delicate, whose Part 2 is currently airing on FX. Roberts has also been building out her producing slate through Belletrist which includes the hit Hulu series Tell Me Lies, renewed for a second season.
Published in 2021 by Flatiron Books while Bleidner was still in college, the collection of stories If You Lived Here You’d Be Famous By Now marks her writing debut.
In addition to developing and executive producing Freeform hit Pretty Little Liars, King also wrote and executive produced spinoffs Ravenswood and PLL: The Perfectionists. She is executive producing PLL: Original Sin whose second season launches May 8 on Max.
Milchan’s credits also include Apple TV+’s Blackbird and The Crowded Room.
Kardashian is repped by WME. Roberts and Belletrist are repped by CAA, David Sweeney of Sweeney Entertainment and JR McGinnis of Felker Tozzi Suddleson Abramson. King and Long Lake Media are repped by WME, Yorn Levine and Entertainment 360. Crescentline is repped by attorney Gavin Wise. Bleidner is repped by Circle of Confusion, the BJ Robbins Literary Agency, and attorney Dale R. de la Torre of Jacobson Russell Saltz Nassim & de la Torre.
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