NBC has put into development The A Word from writer Arika Mittman (Paradise Lost), Universal Television, and Keshet Studios.

Based on the Keshet Broadcasting and July August Productions’ series Yellow Peppers written and created by Keren Margalit, The A Wordis one family’s emotional journey after their young son is diagnosed with autism.

Showrunner Arika Mittman (Paradise Lost, Timeless) also executive produces the US adaptation, alongside Peter Traugott (Keshet Studios), Avi Nir (Keshet Media Group), Alon Shtruzman (Keshet International), Karni Ziv (Keshet Broadcasting), and Keren Margalit.

Distributed internationally by Keshet International, (KI) the format of The A Word has already been adapted in the UK for BBC One by Tiger Aspect and Keshet Productions, where Peter Bowker’s much-anticipated third series recently premiered to rave reviews; in Greece for Alpha TV; and in the Netherlands for NPO by Fiction Valley. 

KI has also sold the English language finished tape into over 80 territories to date, including the US (Sundance TV, Amazon, iTunes), Australia and New Zealand (BBC Australia), Sweden (SVT), and Brazil (Globosat). 

Mitmann most recently staffed on La Brea, also for NBC and Keshet Studios, and was previously showrunner on Paradise Lost and co-showrunner on Timeless. She has also written on Dexter and Elementary. Mittman is repped by Verve, Todd Feldman of The Feldman Co., and Gregg Gellman of Morris Yorn.

Keshet Studios has more than a dozen projects at various stages of development or production, including limited and returning series, short-form dramas, and feature-length films.  Recent orders include Echo 3, a US adaptation of Keshet Broadcasting’s When Heroes Fly for Apple TV and Le Brea for NBC with Universal Television. Other projects currently in development include Ron Bergman’s Rise and Kill First with Yval Adler for HBO and The Stuntwoman with Guy Nattiv.