Altitude & Brouhaha to adapt Bill Bryson’s ‘A Short History Of Nearly Everything’ as returnable animation

L-R: Bill Bryson & Richard Ayoade

A Short History Of Nearly Everything, the popular science book by American-British author and journalist Bill Bryson, is being turned into an animated series by Altitude and Brouhaha Entertainment.

The book, which has sold more than 15,000,000 copies worldwide and translated into more than 50 languages, presents scientific subjects in an accessible way.

The adaptation will be led by Josh Weinstein (The Simpsons, Futurama) and Jason Hazeley (Cunk On Earth, Death To 2020) and narrated by actor and comedian Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd, The Mandalorian).

It will tell the story of everything we know through the stories of the unsung and often little-known heroes and heroines of science. It will span centuries and continents, time and space, the abstract and the real, the crazy and the obvious — and explore the triumphs of imagination, the leaps of faith, the hours of grind and the happy accidents encountered by these brilliant and often delightfully eccentric thinkers and doers.

The series concept was devised by Hazeley and Paul Sowerbutts, with Weinstein, Hazeley and Sowerbutts exec producing alongside Will Clarke for Altitude, Troy Lum and Andrew Mason for Brouhaha.

“Bill’s brilliant mind expands beyond the hugely impressive number of books he’s sold and is arguably a global brand in its own right,” said Will Clarke, chairman and co-CEO of Altitude.

“We know from broadcasters and streamers that audiences are hungry to explore and learn more about our universe whilst being entertained and our series – which we envisage as a long-running entertainment franchise – is the perfect way to deliver that.“