Universal Cable Productions Nabs the Rights to George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards Series

By Maryann Yin 

High Stakes Wildcards Cover (GalleyCat)Universal Cable Productions (UCP) has picked up the television rights to George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards series. Variety reports that Melinda Snodgrass, Martin’s assistant editor, and Gregory Noveck will serve as executive producers.

Here’s more from Martin’s blog post: “The shared world of the Wild Cards diverged from our own on Sept. 15, 1946 when an alien virus was released in the skies over Manhattan, and spread across an unsuspecting Earth. Of those infected, 90% died horribly, drawing the black queen, 9% were twisted and deformed into jokers, while a lucky 1% became blessed with extraordinary and unpredictable powers and became aces. The world was never the same.”

According to Deadline, Martin has worked on and published 22 anthologies and mosaic novels for this series; the first volume came out back in 1986. Tor Books will publish the 23rd installment on August 30. (via Slate)