EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Studios is developing Assume Nothing, a limited series based on Tanya Selvaratnam’s memoir of the same name, from Joanna Coles, Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ Purple Pebble Pictures, with Chopra Jonas also in talks to star, and ABC Signature.
Assume Nothing will be adapted and executive produced by Mimi Won Techentin (Queen Sugar), who also will serve as showrunner. In it, dating New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman – advocate for women’s rights, prosecutor of Harvey Weinstein – seemed like a dream. After the terrifying end of the relationship, Selvaratnam bravely shares her story with Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow of the New Yorker, which leads to Schneiderman’s downfall and his replacement by Letitia James, the first female attorney general of New York State.
Coles and Jessica Whitaker executive produce for Joanna Coles Productions, with Chopra Jonas and Mary Rohlich for Purple Pebble Pictures. Selvaratnam will serve as producers. The project is co-produced by ABC Signature, where Chopra Jones previously had a deal, Joanna Coles Productions and Amazon Studios.
Chopra Jonas will next be seen in Prime Video’s Citadel, in which she stars alongside Richard Madden, a series by the Russo Brothers for Amazon Studios where she has a deal. Following that, she stars in Love Again, releasing May 12, with Sam Heughan and Celine Dion. Most recently Chopra Jonas starred in Netflix’s Oscar-nominated The White Tiger, which she also executive produced. She is repped by UTA and Anjula Acharia.
Selvaratnam is an Emmy-nominated and multiple Webby-winning filmmaker with projects in production for Aubin Pictures and Story Syndicate. She is also the author of The Big Lie; and the Senior Director of Gender Justice Narratives at the Pop Culture Collaborative.
Techentin has written for a dozen broadcast and streaming shows, including Queen Sugar on OWN, A Million Little Things on ABC, and Echoes on Netflix. She completed the 2022 WGA Showrunner Training program and is repped by Zadoc Angel and Dave Brown at Echo Lake Entertainment and Jamie Mandelbaum and Marissa Linden at Jackoway Tyerman.
Coles most recently served as executive producer of The Bold Type, which aired for five seasons on Freeform. The praised comedy-drama was inspired by her life and career and featured a character, played by Melora Hardin, that was modeled after Coles. She is repped by Brillstein Entertainment Partners, UTA, Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.