Krista Vernoff, Octavia Spencer Set 'First Lie Wins' at Hulu

Krista Vernoff is branching out to streaming.

The Grey’s Anatomy showrunner is teaming with Octavia Spencer to adapt Ashley Elston’s forthcoming novel First Lie Wins for Hulu. The drama, which landed at Hulu and ABC Signature following a bidding war, is currently in development at the streamer.

First Lie Wins is described as a twisty cat-and-mouse thriller. Elston sold the title preemptively to Pamela Dorman Books. It is slated for publication in early 2023.

Vernoff and Meghann Plunkett are both set to pen the script. First Lie Wins marks a reunion for Vernoff and Plunkett, with the latter currently writing on Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Station 19 and having been staffed on the former’s short-lived ABC drama Rebel.

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Exec producers include Vernoff, Plunkett, Spencer and her Orit collaborators Brian Clisham and Stephanie Kluft. Author Elston will also exec produce alongside Vernoff’s husband and Trip the Light Productions partner Alexandre Schmitt. Andrew Stearn, who also exec produced Rebel and worked on Showtime’s Shameless with Vernoff, will also exec produce.

Vernoff and her Trip the Light banner are based at ABC Signature with a rich overall deal. She currently serves as showrunner on both Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19. First Lie Wins marks her first project for a streamer. Vernoff and Trip the Light are repped by UTA and Hansen Jacobson.

Plunkett, in addition to working on Station 19 and Rebel is an award-winning poet. She is a writer in residence at Omega Institute and serves as a poetry reader for The New Yorker. She’s repped by CAA and attorney Barry Littman.

Spencer and her Orit Entertainment exec produce Apple’s Truth Be Told, which is in production on its third season, Self-Made and their award-winning documentary short Right to Try. Orit is repped by CAA and attorneys Karl Austen and Ryan LeVine.

Elston, for her part, has penned young adult novels including The Rules for Disappearing and 10 Blind Dates. First Lie Wins is her first adult novel. She’s repped by CAA and Sterling Lord Literistic.

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