Globoplay Greenlights Raphael Montes Adaptation 'A Woman in the Dark'

Banijay Entertainment has greenlit an adaptation of Raphael Montes's "Uma Mulher no Escuro" ("A Woman in the Dark") for Globoplay. The Brazilian scripted label A Fábrica will lead the project, developed in partnership with the author's own development studio, Casa Montes.

The greenlight looks set to be announced at the Spotlight session "Inside Banijay's Fiction Strategy: The Motor of Global IPs," held on the afternoon of Sept. 30 at Madrid's Iberseries & Platino Industria.

Montes is one of Brazil's best-selling authors — the country's own king of crime — and a highly in-demand author-screenwriter. He has become one of the most successful IP-generating powerhouses in Brazil, with Netflix's popular "Good Morning, Verônica" and the Globoplay hit "Perfect Days" performing strongly with audiences and critics alike. He recently collaborated with A Fábrica on Netflix's "A Estranha na Cama." His books have sold more than a million copies worldwide and have been published in over 25 countries.

"Uma Mulher no Escuro" won the Jabuti Literary Prize for Best Entertainment Novel. The story follows Victoria Bravo, a woman who witnessed the brutal murder of her family as a child. Twenty years later, while attempting to rebuild her life, she becomes convinced the killer has returned — drawing her into a tense mystery in which those closest to her become suspects.

Simone Oliveira, Director of Development & New Business at A Fábrica, said: "This commission reflects the value in nurturing talent relationships and collaborating once again with Raphael Montes. As one of Brazil's most sought-after crime writers, he has helped shape our premium strategy, and together, we are uniting prestigious literary IP with high-end storytelling to deliver Globoplay's next hit."

A Fábrica's recent growth has been fuelled by the global success of "Desperate Lies" ("Pedaço de Mim"), the Netflix drama that spent six weeks in the platform's Global Top 10. Building on that momentum, the company is expanding its slate for the global streamer with a diverse range of films and series, including the psychological thriller feature "A Estranha na Cama," the contemporary comedy series "Enfim Sós," and the drama series "Mãe Imperfeita."

Since its launch in 2016, A Fábrica has developed more than 30 projects spanning over 800 episodes, including feature films, premium series, comedies, dramas, sitcoms and, more recently, emerging formats such as microdrama.

A Fábrica sits within Banijay Entertainment, described as the number one European scripted studio and the world's leading provider for global streamers. The group launches more than 140 scripted titles and produces over 1,800 hours of scripted content annually, with recent and forthcoming series including "Peaky Blinders," "Rogue Heroes," "Reputation," "Drawn Together," "Maya," "Aquel," "House of Guinness," "Legends," "Carême," "Wallander," "War" and "Call the Midwife."

With a prize-winning literary property, a proven crime writer and a studio riding a global Netflix hit, the Globoplay commission signals that Banijay intends to keep converting Brazilian literary IP into premium series for an increasingly international audience.