Sonar taking The Fifth Beatle to TV

US producer and distributor Sonar Entertainment has optioned Vivek J. Tiwary’s The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story, and will adapt the best-selling graphic novel into an event series.

Tiwary, who has unprecedented access to the Lennon/McCartney catalogue of songs, will adapt his own work and exec produce the resulting series.

It will tell the story of The Beatles manager and ‘fifth Beatle’ Brian Epstein.

“Brian Epstein’s story is rich in inspiration and is set amidst a backdrop of great cultural change and the legendary history of The Beatles, so an event series truly feels like the only way to do Brian justice,” said Tiwary.

He added: “We’re going to do wonderful things with the extra creative room afforded to us and I’m thrilled to be working with Sonar to take advantage of all the exciting elements this format has to offer.”

His graphic novel, published by Dark Horse Comics in 2013, was critically acclaimed, winning several awards as well as selling strongly.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Vivek to expand his vision to another medium and expose a whole new audience to his riveting and audacious work,” said Tom Patricia, executive VP, event series, Sonar.

“This story of the man behind the rise of The Beatles will captivate fans around the world and make for a compelling series that is both intimate and epic.”