Colson Whitehead's Harlem trilogy is being adapted into an Apple TV show.
Silo showrunner Graham Yost is steering the adaptation.
Harlem trilogy recently wrapped with Cool Machine.
A TV show adaptation of Colson Whitehead's beloved Harlem trilogy has landed at Apple. The crime series will be based on his bestselling novels, including Harlem Shuffle, Crook Manifesto and his latest Cool Machine, which was published July 21. Silo showrunner Graham Yost is driving the highly awaited adaptation. Whitehead’s Harlem trilogy is set in New York City and spans from the 1950s to the 80s.
The first installment was shortlisted for the Kirkus Prize and Gotham Book Prize, among others, while the sequel won the Gotham Book Prize for Fiction. Cool Machine was recently mentioned on Barack Obama's summer reading list.
The synopsis is: "Blending crime fiction with social satire, the series follows Ray Carney, a furniture salesman who can’t help but be drawn into the criminal underworld of Harlem." Yost is developing the series alongside Aric Avelino, with other producers including Sorry, Baby's Adele Romanski, Aftersun's Mark Ceryak, and Breaking Bad's Melissa Bernstein. Casting details are under wraps.
Whitehead has had stellar luck with adaptations. His novel The Underground Railroad was spun into a 2021 miniseries by Jenkins for Amazon Prime Video. It went on to win a Golden Globe for Best Limited or Anthology Series and a Peabody. Among critics, the miniseries earned a nearly perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 95%. His 2019 book The Nickel Boys inspired the 2024 film directed by RaMell Ross, which was Oscar-nominated for best picture and best adapted screenplay. Both novels bagged the Pulitzer Prize.
With Silo Season 3 currently streaming and a fourth and final season already shot, Yost will focus on Harlem and several other projects.
