Spec Script Deal: “Dyersville

Netflix and Higher Ground acquire crime thriller spec script “Dyersville” written by Will Hettinger. Via Deadline:

Netflix and the Barack and Michelle Obama‘s Higher Ground prevailed in a mid-six-figure spec deal for Dyersville, a fact-based Chicago-set crime thriller. Will Hettinger wrote the script, and Grant Singer is near a deal to direct, so this is all moving on a fast track.

Dyersville became a hot spec that had five buyers circling. They asked to keep the plot under wraps, but I can report it is set in the Obamas’ old stomping grounds, in Chicago.

Story details from Tracking Board:

A female marshal is recruited to protect a man, who has agreed to become a cooperating witness for the FBI. The assignment involves taking the witness to a safehouse in Dyersville, Iowa, and keeping him hidden from those who may want to harm him.

Hettinger is repped by CAA and Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment.

By my count, this is the 7th spec script deal in 2024.

There were 7 spec script deals year-to-date in 2023.