HBO Has Found Its Next Hit Thriller Series, and It’s From the Creator of 3 Sci-Fi Masterpieces

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HBO is developing a new, ambitious series and has brought in a top TV creator to lead the project. Warner Bros. Discovery announced that Damon Lindelof, known for shows like HBO’s Watchmen, The Leftovers, and LOST, will be the showrunner, writer, and executive producer of The Chain, a limited series based on Adrian McKinty’s popular 2019 novel. A movie adaptation, planned with director Edgar Wright and starring Emma Stone, didn’t work out a few years ago, but now HBO is bringing the story to life as a series.

I’m really excited about this new show! They’re not giving away much about the plot yet, but apparently, Lindelof is approaching it like he did with Watchmen. It won’t be a direct copy of the book, but more of a deeper dive into the story and characters. Knowing McKinty’s work, which is seriously dark and twisty, that’s a pretty bold move, but I’m intrigued to see where he takes it!

HBO has partnered with Damon Lindelof for two years, and The Chain will be their first collaboration. The story for the pilot episode is credited to Lindelof, Carly Wray, and Breannah Gibson, with Lindelof and Wray writing the script. Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer from Media Res, the show’s co-studio, will executive produce, alongside Shane Salerno and the book’s author, Adrian McKinty.

Lindelof said he was immediately impressed by the unique idea behind Adrian’s book, wishing he’d come up with it himself. He’s been looking for a compelling thriller to adapt, and this one has everything he loves – a dark, strange, and exciting quality that really sparks his creativity. He’s thrilled to be working again with Francesca, Casey, and Michael, who helped launch his career at HBO fifteen years ago, and hopes The Chain will be another success for them.

What Will HBO’s The Chain Be About?

In the novel The Chain, a disturbing cycle of kidnapping unfolds. Parents have their child taken and are then given a horrifying choice: pay a ransom and kidnap another child to continue the chain. The story follows Rachel, a divorced mother whose daughter, Kylie, is a victim of this scheme. Rachel turns to her ex-brother-in-law, Pete, for assistance as they grapple with the difficult question of whether to participate in the chain, attempt to stop it, and uncover the person responsible – all while desperately trying to save Kylie.

McKinty’s book provides some history of The Chain, explaining who created it and how it started, but this information could easily be developed further for the TV adaptation. The book’s structure also suggests a potential format for the series, similar to Weapons, with each episode focusing on a different perspective – perhaps a parent, a kidnapped child, or someone involved in running the ‘game’.

Having Damon Lindelof involved suggests the show won’t follow a simple, straight-line story – his previous work on shows like Watchmen and LOST demonstrated that. His series The Leftovers is particularly relevant; it focused on a core group of characters while also weaving in the stories of many others as they grappled with a huge, unexplained event. The Chain will likely prioritize character development, showing how one family’s struggles impact others in a continuous cycle of trauma. Each character – parents and children alike – will be fundamentally changed by the events of the series, assuming they survive. This promises to be captivating television, and the eight-episode length is ideal for Lindelof to deliver a complete, focused story like Watchmen, avoiding the pacing issues that sometimes plagued LOST.

The Chain is in development at HBO.

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2026-01-30 20:41