“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” star Rachel Brosnahan is set to star in and executive produce a dramedy called “The Switch” set up at Amblin Partners, in which she’ll play a woman who swaps lives with her grandmother, Amblin announced Tuesday.
Amblin acquired the rights to the novel “The Switch” by Beth O’Leary and has tapped Bekka Bowling (“Thanks for the Memories,” Netflix’s “Lovesick”) to adapt the screenplay. “The Switch” was released in the UK last month and is already a Sunday Times Bestseller.
“The Post” producer Kristie Macosko Krieger, a two-time Oscar nominee, will produce the film, and the author of “The Switch” O’Leary will executive produce alongside Brosnahan.
“The Switch” centers around a 29-year-old consultant and her 79-year-old grandmother who decide to swap lives (including cell phones) for two months, after a series of personal setbacks. While the younger woman moves to a tiny Yorkshire village to tackle the responsibilities of dog walking and neighborhood watch, the older woman finds herself in a tiny London flat, navigating dating apps and starting up a social club for lonely Londoners.
“Beth has written a gorgeous, sweet and funny book in ‘The Switch,’ and I couldn’t be more excited to start this journey with her. As we all know by now, Rachel is an amazing actress and a force to be reckoned with – I’m delighted she’s agreed to come on board as both an actor and executive producer,” Macosko Krieger said in a statement.
“I am thrilled to be partnering with Amblin to bring Beth O’Leary’s beautiful book to life. I was utterly charmed and deeply moved from the first page to the last and can’t wait to share Leena and Eileen’s story with everyone,” Brosnahan said in a statement.
“I couldn’t be happier that The Switch has found a home with Amblin. I came away from my first call with Kristie, Jeb and the team absolutely buzzing – their vision for ‘The Switch’ is just so exciting. I’m a huge fan of Rachel, too, so it’s an absolute dream to have her both starring and exec producing. Basically, I’m still pinching myself,” O’Leary said in a statement.
Amblin Partners’ President of Production Jeb Brody will oversee the project for the studio.
Brosnahan is also attached to star alongside Anthony Ramos in Amblin’s “Distant,” which postponed production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She’ll next be seen in “The Courier,” which stars Benedict Cumberbatch and played under the title “Ironbark” at Sundance this year.
“The Switch” is O’Leary’s second novel following her bestselling romance “The Flatshare,” and it will publish in the U.S. and Canada on August 18.
Brosnahan is represented by Brillstein Partners, CAA and Schreck, Rose, Dapello, Adams & Dunham. O’Leary is represented by Sheila David and Tanera Simons at the Darley Anderson Literary, TV & Film Agency, London & Richard Thompson at Brecheen Feldman Breimer Silver & Thompson, LLP. Bowling is represented by CAA and Robert Taylor at The Artists Partnership.