All Creatures Great and Small producer Playground has optioned Alex Marwood’s The Wicked Girls and Girls director Richard Shepard will write, direct and exec produce. The psychological thriller will be developed as a limited TV series, with no network attached as yet. Published a decade ago, The Wicked Girls tells of struggling journalist Kirsty Lindsay who is reporting on a series of attacks on young female tourists in a seaside vacation town. When her investigation leads her to interview carnival cleaner Amber Gordon, both of their lives are turned upside down. Colin Callender, Scott Huff and David Stern will oversee development and executive produce for Playground. They said: “Alex Marwood wrote a novel filled with complex female characters and page turning thrills. We were hooked from page one by the story of Kirsty and Amber and how their past secrets unravel to form a fascinating relationship that upends both their lives.”