Director Ridley Scott and producer Lynda Obst have teamed up with National Geographic Channel on a scripted drama series about the origins of the Ebola virus, based on Richard Preston’s 1995 best-selling novel, The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story, which documents incidents involving “viral hemorrhagic fevers” (a club which the Ebola virus is a member of).
The virus is probably most associated with the 2013–2016 epidemic contained primarily in the West African nations Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which resulted in at least 28,000 cases and 11,000 deaths. It’s considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be the most widespread outbreak of Ebola in history. Other West African countries saw limited exposure to the virus, including Senegal, Nigeria and Mali, with isolated cases that would later be discovered in parts of Europe and within the United States.
“I think it’s the speed with which it kills that makes the disease so frightening,” Obst said. “People hoped it would stay in some remote part of the world. But that’s a fantasy in the modern world. The modern world makes us one big connected family.”
No other details are available on the proposed series at this time.
There have been other recent on-screen chronicles (fiction and non) of the Ebola virus, including CNN Films’ 2016 documentary co-production which explored the risks and progress made in the battle against Ebola and other infectious diseases; it was initially released in a limited theatrical, followed by a CNN Films TV broadcast.
There was also the critically-acclaimed Nigerian drama-thriller 93 Days, directed by Steve Gukas from a script penned by Paul Rowlston, which toured the international film festival circuit (including several in the USA) in 2017, but has yet to be officially released. 93 Days is based on the true story of the men and women who risked their lives and made sacrifices to fight the consequences of an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Nigeria. The international cast includes Bimbo Akintola, Danny Glover, Somkele Idhalama, Tim Reid, Keppy Ekpeyong, Alastair Mackenzie and others. Check out a trailer below.
