‘The Great’ Creator and ‘Cruella’ Writer Tony McNamara Signs Multiyear Overall Deal With ABC Signature

variety.com:

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterABC Signature has signed a two-year overall deal with Tony McNamara, the Oscar- and Emmy-nominated writer who created Hulu’s “The Great” and penned films “The Favourite” and Disney’s “Cruella.”Under the pact, McNamara will develop and supervise projects for the Disney Television Studios-owned division.“Tony’s work on ‘The Great’ and ‘Cruella’ is sly, subversive and delicious, and we made it our mission to get this spectacular talent to our studio,” ABC Signature president Jonnie Davis said in a statement Wednesday. “Thankfully, he said ‘yes.’ We’re so excited to support him in whatever he wants to do next.”McNamara is the creator, showrunner, and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated series “The Great” on Hulu, starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, which is based on his stage play.

McNamara won the 2021 Writers Guild Award for episodic comedy for the Hulu series and was nominated again this year. The series recently aired its second season to critical acclaim and was quickly renewed for a third season by Hulu.

On the film side, McNamara is known for writing “The Favourite,” starring Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone, Nicholas Hoult and Olivia Colman, and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.

McNamara received an Academy Award nomination for original screenplay for the movie and won best screenplay at the British Independent Film Awards, a BAFTA Film Award for original screenplay and Screenwriter of the Year at London Film Critics’ Awards.More recently, he wrote Disney’s live-action film “Cruella,” starring Emma Stone in the iconic leading role, and is currently working on the sequel.