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Robert K. Massie's 'Catherine the Great' could become an ABC TV show

Robert K. Massie's biography 'Catherine the Great' is reported to be in the process of being adapted into a limited series for ABC.

'Catherine the Great' is one of several books by Robert K. Massie that focus on the Russian monarchy.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

Robert K. Massie’s biography “Catherine the Great,” which was released in 2011, is reported to be in the process of being adapted into a limited series for ABC.

If the project goes forward, it will be adapted by writer Michael Cristofer, who snagged a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for writing the script for the play “The Shadow Box,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.  Cristofer will executive-produce with Debra Martin Chase, who also produced the Whitney Houston film “Sparkle,” among other projects, and vice-president of ABC's Martin Chase Productions Charles Pugliese will also produce.

No word yet on when the series will air.

The news of a TV series adapted from “Catherine” comes after the CW first aired its series “Reign,” a fictionalized take on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, this fall, and, of course, after the success of the HBO hit series “Game of Thrones,” which focuses on many fictional royal figures.

Massie’s book was critically well-received and was on the Monitor's list of recommended fall 2011 nonfiction titles, with Monitor books editor Marjorie Kehe calling it “yet another compelling portrait of a Russian royal” from Massie.

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