Abacus Media Rights (AMR), an Amcomri Entertainment company, has pre-sold The Boy That Never Was, a four-hour drama series based on the best-selling novel by Karen Perry.

Filmed on location in Morocco and Ireland and produced by Ireland’s leading film and TV production company Subotica (North Sea Connection), the series has been commissioned by RTÉ with support from Screen Ireland with delivery scheduled for April 2024.

AMR has already secured sales to UKTV for their Alibi channel and France Télévisions.

The series is co-written by international number one best-selling author and screenwriter Jo Spain (Harry Wild, Taken Down), whose own crime novels have been translated in 20 territories, and screenwriter David Logan (Harry Wild, To Olivia).

The series is executive produced by Aoife O’Sullivan and Tristan Orpen Lynch of Subotica. Executive producers for RTÉ are David Crean and Dermot Horan. Executive producer for Screen Ireland / Fís Éireann is Andrew Byrne.

The Boy That Never Was stars award-winning actor Colin Morgan (Belfast, Legend), Toni O’Rourke (God’s Creatures, Calm with Horses), Kerr Logan (Alias Grace, Strike) and Simon Callow (The Witcher, Four Weddings and a Funeral), and is directed by award-winning director Hannah Quinn (Vikings: Valhalla, Disenchanted, Fate: The Winx Saga).

Jonathan Ford, Managing Director at AMR comments, “RTE put this project into development when they heard Jo Spain and David Logan’s take on the story and their carefully structured scripts deliver so much from the very first scene.  This drama is a deeply atmospheric and masterfully crafted tale of love and loss with myriad twists and turns that will chill viewers to the bone.”

David Crean, Acting Group Head of Drama, RTÉ said; “RTÉ is delighted to commission this brilliant Irish drama. Once we knew that Jo Spain and David Logan were confirmed as writers, alongside director Hannah Quinn, we knew we would have a drama of the highest quality and a real treat for both Irish and international audiences.”

The Boy That Never Was is a chilling story about Dillon, a three-year-old child who vanished in Essaouira, Morocco following an earthquake.  When Dillon’s father Harry (Morgan) races back to their tiny apartment to rescue his child, the apartment is in rubble and there is no sign of his son.  Three years later, thousands of miles away in Dublin, Harry spots a six-year-old boy in a crowd and is convinced he is Dillon.  Desperate to find his son, Harry’s obsession tears apart his marriage to Robin (O’Rourke), exposing shameful secrets that lead to the truth of what happened to their son on the night he went missing.