Bill Clinton and James Patterson's Political Thriller Novel To Get a TV Adaptation on Showtime

President Donald Trump may have had his TV show run with “The Apprentice,” but it looks like Former President Bill Clinton is catching up as well. Clinton teamed up with best-selling crime/thriller author James Patterson to write the soon-to-be-published novel “The President Is Missing.” But prior to the book’s release comes a series order by Showtime to adapt the upcoming novel to a TV show.
The rights to adapt the novel was acquired by the network last Friday. Not much is known about the novel’s narrative, but the network describes “The President is Missing” as “the startling story of a sitting U.S. president’s disappearance, with the level of detail that only someone who has held the office can know.”

Bill Clinton and James Patterson’s ‘The President is Missing’ vying to be a breakout political drama on TV

“The President is Missing” was announced last May, making this Clinton’s first foray into writing as well as the first thriller novel written by a former American President. Patterson, on the other hand, is a well-known crime/thriller author who currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most No. 1 New York Times bestseller titles and the first author to sell more than one million e-books. Incidentally, Clinton is reportedly a longtime fan of Patterson.

Shortly after the novel was announced, Clinton and Patterson began looking for potential buyers of the book’s TV and film rights. Considering the massive successes of current political dramas like “House of Cards,” “Designated Survivor,” “Madam Secretary,” and “Scandal,” this move by Showtime could prove to be a very bankable decision. It might even go on to be a hit, depending on how the narrative will flesh out.
The TV premiere and production start date of “The President Is Missing” is currently unknown, nor confirmed if it will adopt the same title as the source material, but the novel is slated for a 2018 release.