Seth MacFarlane is adapting Herman Wouk’s “The Winds of War” and “War and Remembrance” novels into a limited series for Universal Content Productions, marking the first project under his new overall deal at NBCUniversal.
MacFarlane’s show, which is based on both of those Wouk books and goes by the working title “The Winds of War,” tells “the epic story of one American family’s turbulent voyage across the continents and across the years that spanned the Second World War,” per UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group.
The “Family Guy” creator will co-write the script and exec produce alongside Seth Fisher (“The Alienist”), with MacFarlane’s Fuzzy Door partner Erica Huggins also executive producing. Rachel Hargreaves-Heald is the executive in charge for Fuzzy Door. UCP plans to shop the show to broadcast networks, cablers and streaming platforms.
MacFarlane and Huggins left their longtime home at 20th Century Fox Television (now 20th Television) in January for a five-year, $200 million overall deal with NBCUniversal.
“We are thrilled to announce ‘The Winds of War’ (and War and Remembrance) as the first of many projects we are developing with Fuzzy Door. This is an epic story of valor, perseverance, survival and family that will be retold through a current lens,” Dawn Olmstead, UCP president, said in a statement Wednesday. “I’m very excited about our partnership with Seth as he looks to expand his oeuvre in the next phase of his career.”
MacFarlane added: “I can’t think of a more exciting project with which to launch my creative partnership with UCP than Herman Wouk’s ‘The Winds of War.’ I’ve been a devoted fan of Wouk’s WWII epic for decades, and its depiction of small-scale human endurance in the face of large-scale global upheaval has never been more relevant than it is today. In my very first meeting with Dawn Olmstead, we connected over this project — I learned that she herself comes from a Naval family — and to bring it to fruition under her stewardship and that of her UCP team will be a perfect fit for all. We can’t wait to get started.”
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news of MacFarlane’s “Winds of War” series.