Blumhouse has closed on a significant book deal for Clémence Michallon’s debut thriller The Quiet Tenant, “an expertly paced psychological thriller…[with] a white-knuckle climax” (New York Times). The Quiet Tenant has taken the publishing world by storm with rights sold in thirty countries. Blumhouse Television will develop as a premium limited series or streaming movie.
One of the most-anticipated novels of the year (IndieNext, GoodReads), The Quiet Tenant has just been published by Knopf in the U.S. and Abacus in the U.K. Hailed as “spell-binding” (Megan Abbott), “absolutely brilliant” (Brad Thor), “creepy, claustrophobic, and compelling” (Vogue), and a “tour de force of suspense and character” (The Big Thrill), the novel introduces author Clémence Michallon as an important new voice in the suspense genre.
“I read Clémence’s novel in one sitting and was riveted. The story has all the elements of a great screen adaptation,” said Jason Blum, founder and CEO of Blumhouse.
“Jason Blum is one of the most dynamic producers working today,” said Michallon, “with an enviable slate of motion picture and television credits, and every one of them has viewers tethered to the screen. His vision for bringing The Quiet Tenant to viewers is incredibly strong. I am thrilled he has taken an interest in my work and to be collaborating with him on this project.”
Michallon will executive produce on the project.
The Quiet Tenant is a serial killer novel with a twist: one centering not on the murderer but on those impacted by his crimes. “Haunting but never prurient” (Alafair Burke), The Quiet Tenant is told solely through the perspectives of three women in the killer’s life: his daughter, his girlfriend, and the captive he has earmarked for death. Of the way she has chosen to tell this story, Michallon says: “I knew from the beginning that my serial killer would not get to speak. I’m a reporter by trade, so I took writing an authentic serial killer novel as a great responsibility. Since the serial killer here victimizes women, there was something important in the centering of female voices.”
A searing thriller and an astute study of trauma, survival, and the dynamics of power, The Quiet Tenant promises to be one of the most talked-about novels of the year.
The indie television company founded by Jason Blum deals in genre and provocative programming producing acclaimed scripted series such as Emmy nominated series Sharp Objects and The Good Lord Bird based on the novels, and films like John Lee Hancock’s Mr. Harrigan’s Phone adapted from Stephen King short story. Blumhouse Television will soon release The Horror of Dolores Roach for Prime Video on July 7.
Michallon was represented in the deal by Ryan Wilson at Anonymous Content and Stephen Barbara at Inkwell Management.
About Blumhouse:
Blumhouse is a multimedia company regarded as the driving force in horror. The company has produced over 150 movies and television series with theatrical grosses amounting to over $5 billion. In film, the company has produced iconic, genre, film franchises like Halloween, Paranormal Activity, The Purge, and prolific films like the box-office juggernaut M3GAN; Scott Derrickson’s The Black Phone; Glass, The Visit and Split from M. Night Shyamalan; Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman; Get Out from Jordan Peele; among several others. This year, the company has David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist and Chris Weitz’s film They Listen slated for a theatrical release. The television company operates in genre and provocative programming through acclaimed scripted and unscripted series and documentaries, such as the upcoming series The Horror of Dolores Roach, starring Justina Machado, for Amazon; The Thing About Pam, starring two-time Academy Award winner Renée Zellweger, for NBC; the upcoming original series The Sticky, produced by Jamie Lee Curtis for Amazon; The Jinx for HBO; and the lauded Showtime series The Good Lord Bird, starring Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke, among others. The company also produces streaming anthology series like Welcome to the Blumhouse for Amazon and a slate of horror/thriller films for MGM+.