In maybe the most absurd recent example of the ongoing national compulsion to immediately dramatize the news, HBO and Adam McKay are developing a limited series about the hunt for a vaccine for coronavirus (even though there’s no telling when such a thing will exist). The series will be an adaptation of journalist Brenan Borrell’s “The First Shot” book proposal on the subject, telling the story of the global race for a vaccine – exploring the interpersonal and international politics of its development, as well as issues of access, safety and those surrounding the individuals trying to make it.
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The series is yet to have a name, currently only referred to as “Untitled Vaccine Project”, and further details including cast, episode numbers, and release date are yet to be announced. McKay’s Hyperobject Industries will produce the project and he will executive produce alongside Todd Schulman and Borrell.
Speaking of Borrell, the journalist has been closely tracking the vaccine search and has written dispatches such as the “The Dire Diplomacy of the Global ‘Race for a Vaccine’” for Wired, as well as articles for National Geographic and Science Magazine. Borrell has also covered rare genetic diseases for the New York Times and Australia’s flesh-eating bacteria issues for The Atlantic.
The upcoming limited series is just one of a number of upcoming productions with McKay’s name attached – his upcoming projects including a limited series about Jeffrey Epstein, a drama about the Los Angeles Lakers, climate change-focused anthology series “The Uninhabitable Earth”, as well as the widely discussed, English language TV series adaptation of Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning film “Parasite”.
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It’s far from the only project inspired by the ongoing pandemic though. Many filmmakers have already released short films made in and inspired by lockdown, HBO itself is also preparing to release “Coastal Elites,” a coronavirus-centered comedy special starring Bette Midler, Sarah Paulson, Kaitlyn Dever, Dan Levy, and Issa Rae in September.