A24 and Rhombus Media have opted for the rights to Viet Thanh Nguyen The sympathizer and develop the author’s first Pulitzer Prize-winning novel for a television series.
Published in April 2015, The sympathizer focuses on a half-French, half-Vietnamese man who served as a spy for Communist forces during the Vietnam War. The novel follows the anonymous protagonist as he experiences the final days of the historic war, lives in exile in Los Angeles, and continues to travel throughout Southeast Asia.
Nguyen, who announced the development agreement on Twitter on Thursday, is the Aerol Arnold Chair of English and Professor of English and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of California. He is also a regular contributor and opinion columnist for The New York Times. The sympathizer, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2016, also received the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Asian / Pacific American Literature Award, among a handful of other accolades.
The author also revealed that The servant and Old boy helmer Park Chan-wook will direct the series.
Nguyen is replaced by IPG and Alexander, Lawrence, Frumes & Labowitz.
Glad to finally announce that @ A24 switched to THE SYMPATHIZER for television, with director Park Chan-wook, whose films include THE HANDMAIDEN. His OLDBOY was a big influence on THE SYMPATHIZER, and I can’t imagine a better person to helm this TV adaptation with @rhombusmedia!
– Viet Thanh Nguyen (@viet_t_nguyen) April 7, 2021
