Al Roker Entertainment has optioned the New York Times best-selling novel The Personal Librarian (Berkley/Penguin) from authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray for a limited series.Roker’s wife, ABC News senior national correspondent Deborah Roberts, was instrumental in optioning the work.
Roberts and Roker are executive producers on the project.The popular novel is about J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, a Black American woman with light skin who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white.“The Personal Librarian is a favorite in our household, and it demonstrates historical fiction at its best,” said Al Roker. “We are always looking to work on projects with purpose and this story is relevant now more than ever.
The female lead lives in secrecy and goes to the ends of the earth to hide her identity and protect her family in a very racist world and we look forward to bringing this story to more households.
It also excites me whenever I can work with my wife on a project we both think is important.”“From the moment I picked up The Personal Librarian, I fell in love with it,” added Roberts. “And I knew it needed to make the leap to a series or motion picture.“Spanning more than 40 years on TV and 14 Emmy awards, Al Roker conducts interviews with celebrities and newsmakers each morning on NBC Today.
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