Editorial Staff
So glad to see Hollywood shining more of a light on mental illness. But let’s remember to educate more than entertain when it comes to these projects, ok, execs?
Channing Tatum is shepherding a new TV series that chronicles a young man’s battle with bipolar disorder. Tatum has teamed with Marc Turtletaub and Peter Saraf to option Zack McDermott’s “Gorilla and the Bird : A Memoir of Madness and a Mother’s Love”. Bryan Sipe will pen and executive produce.
The series is based on McDermott’s personal journey as someone suffering from Bipolar. The story takes place when he was in his twenties, which is when the disorder most affects people. There are nearly 6 million Americans battling the disorder today.
Deadline, per the book description, says “Gorilla and the Bird follows Zack’s (the Gorilla) fight to regain his sanity after a devastating psychotic break, with the help of the only person who didn’t give up on him, his mother (The Bird). This inspirational mother, who had her own challenges of overcoming domestic abuse and poverty to raise three children on her own, stuck by him and helped him recover as he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Zack’s sudden illness took him on a harrowing journey including delusions of being filmed and receiving messages through the TV, running naked through cornfields, seeing the Virgin Mary, being arrested on a subway platform and being committed to the Bellevue Hospital. Prior to his illness, Zack had a job as a highly successful public defender for The Legal Aid Society of New York.
The series will tell the story of McDermott and his mother’s heartbreaking yet inspiring battle.”
Great to see A-list TV headed to places even major studio feature films still shy away from.
