Olumide Olorunfemi (Venom: Let There Be Carnage) and Bebe Bettencourt (Eden) are set to star in the “History of a Pleasure Seeker” pilot. The one-hour musical drama is based on Richard Mason’s novel of the same name.
“History of a Pleasure Seeker” is a musical drama set in Amsterdam in 1907 — a tale of a charismatic young man’s explosive adventures through all the temptations of the Belle Époque.
Previously announced cast includes Carla Woodcock and Callum Kerr.
According to Deadline:
Olorunfemi plays Sisanda, a Xhosa woman raised in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, who is used to being the most admired young lady in her village. She did not imagine she’d spend her life cleaning other people’s floors.
Bettencourt plays Louisa, who has her father’s entrepreneurial instincts and is exasperated by the constraints of her social position. A keen observer of human frailty, she’s the strategist who maintains her sister’s social dominance of their gilded world.
The project will be written and executive produced by Mason. Julie Anne Robinson ( Bridgerton) will direct the pilot and exec produce.
Christopher Read will compose the music.
ABC Signature is producing the pilot in association with American Gods and The Mosquito Coast producer Fremantle and Hat Trick Productions.
The book, which was published in 2012, has been described as Downton Abbey-meets-Dangerous Liaisons. The story follows Piet Barol, who has an instinctive appreciation for pleasure and a gift for finding it. When his mother dies, Piet applies for a job as tutor to the troubled son of Europe’s leading hotelier – a child who refuses to leave his family’s mansion on one of Amsterdam’s grandest canals. As Piet enters this glittering world, he learns its secrets and finds his life transformed.
Olorunfemi’s credits also include the short films Rhyme or Die and Big Age.
Bettencourt’s credits also include the film The Dry and Spiderhead.
Source: Deadline