Emma Roberts Inks First-Look Deal At Hulu & Sets ‘Tell Me Lies’ Adaptation As First Project

DEADLINE – Emma Roberts has signed a first-look deal at Hulu and will focus on adapting books for television.

The American Horror Story and Scream Queens star struck the deal with the streamer via her Belletrist TV production company, which has set an adaptation of Carola Lovering’s Tell Me Lies as her first project.

Tell Me Lies, which was published in 2018, tells the story of a young woman’s obsession with a man who’s good at being charming. When Lucy Albright arrives on the campus of her small college, away from her mother whom she’s never forgiven for an act of betrayal in her early teen years, Lucy embraces college life and all it has to offer. But everything changes when she meets Stephen DeMarco, who has a mysterious past of his own. Their addicting entanglement will have consequences they never could have imagined.

Meaghan Oppenheimer, who created Facebook Watch’s Catherine Zeta Jones series Queen America, will write the pilot. Rebelle Media, set up by former CAA agent Laura Lewis, will produce alongside Vice Studios and Vice-owned Refinery29. Lewis will exec produce alongside Vice Studios’ Shannon Gibson with Rebelle Media’s Stephanie Noonan overseeing for Rebelle and Sam Schlaifer overseeing for Refinery29. Lovering will serve as consulting producer.

Belletrist co-founder Karah Preiss will executive produce and Belletrist Director of Development Matt Matruski will also serve as a producer for Belletrist projects.

Belletrist was initially set up as a book club between Roberts, the niece of Julia Roberts, and Preiss and as such the company will focus on TV book adaptations.

Roberts is repped by CAA and Sweeney Entertainment, Carola Lovering is represented by UTA and Allison Hunter at Janklow & Nesbit Associates.