The Big Picture
- The 500, Quirk’s debut novel, is being adapted into a TV series by Amazon MGM Studios. Stay tuned for updates on its development.
- The story follows Mike Ford, a Harvard Law School graduate who discovers that his new consulting firm may be as dangerous as his criminal past.
- Quirk, a former crime reporter, is also known for his hit novel The Night Agent, now a successful Netflix series.
For fans of The Night Agent eagerly awaiting the hit Netflix series’ second season, there’s another Matthew Quirk adaptation in the works. Quirk’s debut novel, The 500, is in development as a TV series. Deadline reports that Amazon MGM Studios have acquired the rights to the book.
The 500, which was first published in 2012 and nominated for an Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American Author, centers around MIke Ford, who grew up in a family of con artists. Craving legitimacy, he went to Harvard Law School, where he excelled, and was subsequently hired by The Davies Group, Washington DC’s most powerful consulting firm. However, he soon finds out that his new world may be no more legitimate than the one he escaped – and this one may be much more dangerous. Pursued by a pair of deadly killers, he has to fall back on his old skills to survive. The book also has a sequel, The Directive, which was published in 2014.
Who Is Matthew Quirk?
Born in 1980, Quick was a crime and terrorism reporter for The Atlantic, and wrote for The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal before becoming a novelist. The 500 was his first novel, which he followed up in 2014 with a sequel; he also published two novels, 2016’s Cold Barrel Zero and 2017’s Dead Man Switch, about Special Forces operator John Hayes. He broke out with 2019’s The Night Agent, which followed Peter Sutherland, a low-level FBI agent who uncovers a Russian mole and a deadly, wide-ranging conspiracy. Released last year, its Netflix TV adaptation, created by Shawn Ryan and starring Gabriel Basso as Sutherland, was a smash hit for the streamer. Its second season began production earlier this year. Quirk continues to write, and is also a co-producer on The Night Agent; his most recent novel is 2023’s Inside Threat.
The 500 will be showrun, executive produced, and written by Andrew Sodroski. Sodroski is the creator of Discovery Channel’s Manhunt: Unabomber, which starred Paul Bettany as notorious bomber Ted Kaczynski and Sam Worthington as Jim Fitzgerald, the federal agent who helped track him down. His next project is the Nicole Kidman thriller Holland, Michigan. David Weil and Natalie Williams will also executive produce under their overall deal with Amazon MGM Studios.
The 500 is currently in development; no release date has yet been revealed. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
