Wiip Acquires Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ YA Novel ‘Little White Lies’ For TV Series Development

EXCLUSIVE: Having successfully adapted The Summer I Turned Pretty books into the popular Prime Video YA series, Wiip is aiming to do the same with another YA title. The independent studio has acquired Jennifer Lynn Barnes‘ novel Little White Lies, to develop for television.

Like the breakout first season of Prime Video’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, Little White Lies takes place over a debutante season.

It is a mystery series about a teenager from the wrong side of the tracks who agrees to move in with her estranged maternal grandmother and do a debutante year, but only because she’s determined to figure out which scion of Southern high society is her biological father.

Wiip’s Paul Lee, Mark Roybal, and Nate Winslow will executive produce alongside Barnes and A Star Is Born executive producer Heather Parry, who brought the project to the studio.

“Heather and I grew up in the business together and I’ve always been in awe of her Midas touch,” said Roybal. “So when she introduced us to Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ witty, suspenseful novel of high society, we instantly knew this was a show we had to make with her. Jennifer has crafted a twisty mystery set in a glittering, glamorous world, all seen through the lens of a young woman searching for identity and the truth about her family. We are delighted to collaborate with this amazing team to bring the contemporary debutante society to the screen.”

Bestselling author Barnes’ first published novel was written when she was a teenager, and in the two decades since, her more than 20 YA novels have been released in more than thirty languages worldwide. That includes the Little White Lies sequel, Deadly Little Scandals.

“As a former (somewhat reluctant) debutante myself, I’m thrilled to be working with Wiip to bring this tale of twisted, high society mysteries, family secrets, decades-long lies, female friendship, and a whole lot of bless-your-heart to television,” Barnes said.

A Fulbright Scholar with advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science, Barnes received her Ph.D. from Yale University in 2012. She was a tenured professor of psychology and writing before leaving academia to focus on creating fandom-enabling young adult media properties full time. She is repped by Holly Frederick at Curtis Brown.

Parry also produced Just Go With It, starring Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman. Most recently, she served as an executive producer on Brett Morgen’s Grammy-winning film Moonage Daydream, about David Bowie.