K.L. Going’s first YA novel, Fat Kid Rules the World, is released to critical acclaim, winning the Michael L. Printz Award for literary excellence.
Actor/director Matthew Lillard makes his directing debut with a film adaption starring Billy Campbell and newcomers Jacob Wysocki and Matt O’Leary, winning the Audience Award at SXSW.
A musical based on the book is workshopped off Broadway and in Los Angeles with a full production at the Wyatt Theatre in Sacramento.
Producers Rick Rosenthal and Nick Morton team with writers Peter Hume and Nate Bartoshuk to develop Fat Kid Rules the World for television.
THE HEART OF THE SHOW IS THE UNEASY FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN TROY AND JO. THE GLUE THAT HOLDS THEM TOGETHER IS MUSIC.
Troy is lonely. Apart from a group of online gaming friends, he’s got no one. He desperately wants a friend, so when Jo slams into his life he ignores the thousand red flags and gets caught up in Jo’s crazy. She’s dangerous, exciting, and she makes Troy feel alive. The music she turns him onto does the same. It wakes a rage in Troy he never knew he had. His anger will drive Troy to demand a better life from himself and those who have abused and ignored him.
Jo wants to form a band with the hope of winning a competition at a local radio station. She also hopes to earn the respect of her fading rock-star mom. To do this, she needs a drummer, and Troy is the only one willing to sign on to her dreams. But Jo has another reason to take Troy under her wing. Lily, Jo’s girlfriend, recently took her own life. Jo feels it was her fault, and she’s determined not to let that same fate befall Troy.
There is much struggle and pain in this story, but the heartbreak is always balanced with humor and compassion. This mix of pathos and humor is what makes Fat Kid Rules the World so human and relatable. It’s a funny, moving, and culturally relevant story that deserves to be on television.
Great examples of the tone of our show are series like My So-Called Life and This is Us, and films like Rocketman, Almost Famous, Perks of Being a Wallflower, and of course, Fat Kid Rules the World.
Put another way, imagine all the grit and despair of Euphoria combined with the heart and hope of Heartstopper, then stir in a dash of Glee. It’s the lowest of lows and the highest of highs one right after the other. That’s what it is to grow up. And that is our series Fat Kid Rules the World.