UCP and “The Act” co-creator Nick Antosca have landed the rights to develop a limited series based on the true story of the Jan Broberg kidnapping, told in the documentary “Abducted in Plain Sight.”
Broberg’s shocking story of being abducted as a young girl by a trusted family friend in the 1970s was brought back into the public eye when the 2017 true-crime doc began streaming on Netflix last year.
Broberg herself is signed on to produce, along with her mother, Mary Ann Broberg, who wrote about her family’s experience in her memoir “Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story.” Antosca will write and executive produce.
The UCP project, still untitled, is described as following “the bizarre true story of the Broberg family, whose daughter Jan was kidnapped multiple times over a period of years by a charismatic, obsessed family ‘friend.’ The Brobergs — devoted to their faith, family, and community — were utterly unprepared for the sophisticated tactics their neighbor used to exploit their vulnerabilities, drive them apart, and turn their daughter against them. This is the story of how their lives were permanently altered — and how they survived.”
Skye Borgman, director of the “Abducted in Plain Sight” documentary, is signed on to serve as a consulting producer for Top Knot Films. Antosca executive produces under his production banner Eat the Cat as part of his overall deal with UCP. Alex Hedlund of Eat the Cat will also co-executive produce. The project has not yet found a network.
Antosca was most recently serving as co-showrunner on “Brand New Cherry Flavor” for Netflix. He also created the creepypasta anthology series “Channel Zero” for SYFY, and Hulu’s “The Act,” which told the famous story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her mother.
UCP is a division of NBCUniversal Content Studios.