Warren Adler is one of the most prolific storytellers of our time. When he passed away at the age of 91, he was experiencing a remarkable career renaissance—his powerful novels and stories expanding across film, television, theater, podcasts, and publishing worldwide. His universal themes of romance, dysfunction, political ambition, mystery, and the beautifully chaotic human condition ensure that Adler’s work will remain culturally essential for generations.
BREAKING NEWS: The Roses Is #1 Worldwide streaming on Disney/Hulu
The renaissance continues with extraordinary momentum: When “The Roses” – the acclaimed remake of the original The War of the Roses film – came out on streaming in November 2025, it was ranked the number one film on Disney/Hulu. Directed by Jay Roach and written by Oscar nominee Tony McNamara (The Favourite, Poor Things), the film stars Oscar winners Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch as Ivy and Theo Rose, a seemingly perfect power couple whose marriage spectacularly detonates in wickedly funny, deeply human fashion. The remarkable cast also includes Kate McKinnon, Andy Samberg, Allison Janney, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Demetriou, Zoë Chao, and Belinda Bromilow.
To celebrate the film’s global success, The War of the Roses novel has been newly republished worldwide in multiple languages—inviting longtime fans and new readers to rediscover the sharp, iconic satire that launched a cultural phenomenon.
WEST END 2027: A Major New Stage Adaptation
Next, Adler’s explosive dark comedy, based on the original novel, arrives on London’s West End in 2027. This theatrical event will bring Adler’s legendary marital warfare to the stage with even more humor, pathos, and emotional firepower.
2027: A Global War of the Roses Podcast Brand
In 2027, the world watch for the launch of The War of the Roses self-help and relationship podcast—an international brand extension tackling themes of marriage, conflict, communication, and modern love. This non-dramatic series will feature leading therapists, provocative conversations, and global guest voices, expanding the brand into the personal-development space in a bold, compelling new way.
A New Era in Publishing: Nobodies and Little Black Dress
The momentum continues in publishing:
- Nobodies—one of the best reviewed crime thrillers in our library—has just been released to critical praise. Best Reviews ever…
- Little Black Dress: A dark, stylish, female-driven comedy based on the Warren Adler novel, updated and reimagined by New York Times bestselling author Shannon McKenna. Tentatively set for publication in the second quarter of 2027, the novel follows Grace Sorrentino, a broke divorced single mother whose fierce love for her daughter leads her into an outrageous scheme: crashing funerals in the perfect little black dress in search of a wealthy widower.
Funny, sharp, glamorous, and emotionally subversive, Little Black Dress turns one of fashion’s most iconic garments into armor, disguise, aspiration, and transformation. With Warren Adler’s signature dark-comic DNA and McKenna’s contemporary female point of view, the novel delivers a bold story of reinvention, survival, female friendship, motherhood, class, image, and self-worth.
Stay tuned as we continue to honor Warren Adler’s legacy with new works, new formats, and new audiences around the world. The battle—and the storytelling renaissance—continues.
Books
Featured Book
Nobodies
Adler Entertainment is excited to announce the publication of NOBODIES, a recently unearthed thriller originally written by the Warren Adler, completed and updated by bestselling author Shannon McKenna.
A high-stakes, character-driven thriller set in today’s hyper-connected world where digital surveillance tracks our every move. When Henry Devlin, a disgraced tech genius framed for financial crimes, crosses paths with Amber Dixon, a con artist fleeing a violent mobster, they discover their greatest weapon isn’t just their combined skills in hacking and deception—it’s their unlikely partnership. They are two damaged antiheroes who have perfected the art of being invisible, but now they must choose between the safety of solitude and the dangerous vulnerability of trust. As each day in hiding grows more dangerous, they’re forced to fight an entire system with nothing but their wits, their secrets, and a connection that could either save them or expose them to the very forces hunting them down.
Featured Book
The Children of the Roses
We are thrilled to announce the republished sequel to “The War of The Roses” – “The Children of the Roses” is now available for purchase. Unlike the legendary Roses, Josh’s marriage to Victoria seems unshakable—until a missing Milky Way at their son’s elite school spirals into chaos, unleashing emotional mayhem, a depraved headmaster, clandestine affairs, and Victoria’s embittered mother. The Children of the Roses is a gripping tale of parents fighting to protect their children, siblings bound by dysfunction, and a family whose seemingly perfect life unravels into darkly comic warfare.
TV & Film
Available to View
Properties in Development
Current Slate from Adler Entertainment Trust
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War of the Roses
(Feature)
A married couple tries everything to drive each other out of the house in a vicious divorce battle.
Produced by Searchlight and Adler Entertainment Trust
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman
Written By: Tony McNamara (THE GREAT, THE FAVOURITE)
Directed By: Jay Roach
Based On: The novel The War of the Roses by Warren Adler
War of the Roses (Play)
Scheduled to open on the West End in 2027
A married couple tries everything to drive each other out of the house in a vicious divorce battle.
Based On: the novel The War of the Roses by Warren Adler
Trans-Siberian Express
(TV Series)
A Cold War tale of love, loss, and nuclear intrigue as we take an epic journey on the legendary Trans Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok. When American cancer specialist, Alex Cousins, learns the diabolical plans of his patient, Soviet Politburo Chief Viktor Dimitrov, he is dispatched on a six-thousand-mile journey aboard the Trans Siberian Express where KGB men watch his every move.
Based On: The novel Trans-Siberian Express by Warren Adler
Untitled Fiona Fitzgerald Mystery Series
(TV Series)
Detective Fiona Fitzgerald is an unlikely force for justice in Washington D.C’s predominantly male police force. As a prominent senator’s daughter and top investigator in the homicide division of the Metropolitan Police Department, Fiona maneuvers between two vastly different worlds, moving quickly from opulent State galas to gritty crime scenes. Born into the elite social circles of the nation’s capital, and with privileged access to what lurks behind the pristine façade of the political establishment, Fiona is determined to expose the chicanery buried under prim rose bushes and concealed within the highest echelons of the American political aristocracy.
Based on: The Fiona Fitzgerald Mystery Series
The Third Door
(Feature)
When an ambitious actress agrees to reunite with her estranged father and her troubled brother on a week-long trek through the Wyoming wilderness, old resentments and bitter recrimination escalate into brutal confrontations and savage violence.
Produced by Anna Camp
Cast: Anna Camp (PITCH PERFECT, GOOD GIRLS REVOLT)
Based On: The novel The Serpent’s Bite by Warren Adler
Target Churchill
(TV Pilot)
The series follows the life of Walter Thompson, Churchill’s long time bodyguard, from his early days as a crack member of the special branch to his time after WW2 when a reenlisted Thompson struggles to abort a highly skilled ex-Nazi agent sent by the KGB to assassinate Churchill during his “Iron Curtain” speech at Westminster College in Missouri.
Written By: Andrew Rattenbury (DOC MARTIN, TEACHERS), Michael Adler
Based On: the novel Target Churchill by Warren Adler and James Humes
Random Hearts
(TV Pilot)
Set in the UK, a Labor MP candidate strategist and a social worker both lose their spouses in a plane crash neither were supposed to be on, and our heroes soon discover that their spouses were having an affair with each other.
Written By: Andrew Rattenbury (DOC MARTIN, TEACHERS), Michael Adler
Based On: The novel Random Hearts by Warren Adler
Flanagan’s Pursuit
(TV Pilot)
Bankrupted and on the run from some people he shouldn’t have crossed, former insurance adjuster and his dutiful wife escape to the quiet seaside town on the southwest coast of England to run Emily’s grandfather’s neglected antique shop: ‘Flanagan’s Pursuit’. Little do they now this small town will reveal an eccentric population and a churning undercurrent of scandal, criminality and moral turpitude.
Written By: Andrew Rattenbury (DOC MARTIN, TEACHERS), Michael Adler
Based On: The Flanagan Series of Mystery Novels by Warren Adler and Andrew Frothingham
Little Black Dress
(Feature)
At the end of her rope after quitting a thankless job, Grace Garcia, a middle-aged struggling, single mom launches a scheme to rescue her life and ensure her child’s future by trolling for rich widowers at funerals.
Based On: The novel Mourning Glory by Warren Adler
The Housewife Blues
(Feature)
After an arranged marriage, a sheltered Muslim woman moves to an apartment in New York. Though forbidden by her husband from talking to strangers, she befriends many of the tenants in the building, becoming enmeshed in the secrets of their complicated lives and starting her own journey of self discovery.
Based On: The novel The Housewife Blues by Warren Adler
Residue
(Feature)
A firebombing of a Black church in Brooklyn that was once a synagogue sets off a chain reaction of international intrigue and bloody violence after three trunks are discovered in a now-exposed basement of the church filled with gold and precious jewels worth millions.
Director: Vondie Curtis Hall
Written By: Vondie Curtis Hall
Based On: The novel Residue by Warren Adler
Funny Boys
Set amidst the background of the all-you-can-eat-and-play resort life of the glamorous Catskills in 1937, a young comedian makes the questionable choice of falling hard for an infamous mobster’s “number one” gal.
Written By: Greg Pritikin
Based On: The novel Funny Boys by Warren Adler
Torture Man
When an unknown caller kidnaps her daughter a prominent anti-war activist turns to an unlikely source for help: an ex-military contractor famous for his at-any-means-necessary brand of extraction.
Written By: Hernany Perla, Michael Adler
Based On: The novel Torture Man by Warren Adler
Beneath the Ivory Tower
(TV Series)
A dark, biting half hour comedy: When a prestigious university’s president is toppled by scandal, an ambitious lawyer sees his chance to ascend academic royalty and become the new university head. But as he scrambles to bury his sordid past, he discovers his picture-perfect wife harbors far darker secrets than his dalliances. In this cutthroat world of ivy and integrity, where cancel culture looms and reputations hang by a thread, this scheming lawyer must navigate a minefield of woke politics, entitled donors, and murderous ambition… all within the hallowed halls of higher education that have become deliciously depraved.
Children of the Roses
(TV Series)
When an innocent caper involving missing Milky Way’s catapults out of control at a seemingly happy couple’s son’s elite private school, the pair find themselves entering into a shattering warfare of a different kind. The Children of the Roses’ exposes the lengths to which parents will go to protect their children.
Currently in development.
Based On: The novel The Children of the Roses by Warren Adler
Dead in the Water
Screenplay by Andrew Rattenbury
“Knives Out” meets “The War of the Roses”. A darkly comic, twist-filled murder mystery set in an elite English coastal town. When the intoxicated, erratic Carol Langston disappears after a glitzy Hollywood-themed party at her sprawling estate, the scandalous lives of the wealthy come under scrutiny. Local old-school detective Ed Hawkins and his underestimated young partner, Sydney Choi are brought in to unravel the case. As they dig deeper, every clue and testimony points to a shocking conclusion: Carol’s disappearance might not be a vanishing act after all but a carefully concealed homicide. With a cast of colorful suspects and biting humor, the detectives peel back the polished veneer of privilege, exposing a web of greed, betrayal, and deadly secrets.
Based On: the play Dead in the Water
Madeline’s Miracles
A psychological thriller: Virginia and Jesse have just uprooted their lives for a move to Los Angeles, unsure if it’s the fresh start they needed or a colossal mistake. Jesse wrestles with the pressures of a high-stakes new job, while Virginia has shelved her dreams of being an artist to focus on raising their twins. Enter Madeline, a magnetic psychic Virginia meets by chance at an exercise studio. With charm and uncanny insight, Madeline weaves herself into their lives, promising to solve their problems and unlock their full potential. But as her influence grows, so do the cracks in their family’s foundation, leaving Virginia to wonder: is Madeline their savior—or the architect of their undoing?
Screenplay by Michael Adler
Trans-Mongolian Express
Inspired by Warren Adler’s Trans-Siberian Express.
In the harrowing aftermath of Chernobyl’s meltdown in 1986, the fate of Eastern Europe hangs by a thread. From Beijing, American radiation scientist Lara, once a thorn in the Russian mob’s side, is drawn back into the shadows of the Soviet Union on the Trans-Mongolian Express. She isn’t alone. Anton, a Soviet scientist exiled for predicting Chernobyl’s catastrophe, is on a quest to expose the truth. Amidst them, Timur, a Chechen giant fueled by vengeance, plots to destroy the already crumbling Soviet Union. Suddenly, a murder on the remote tracks of the Gobi thrusts them into a deadly game of cat and mouse. As Chief Sheriff Bat races to solve the murder, their lives are thrown into jeopardy. Lara finds an unexpected ally in Gang, a reluctant assassin sent to end her life, and an illicit romance blooms amidst the chaos. But Gang isn’t the only killer onboard. A hidden menace lurks, threatening to unravel all their plans. In this electrifying ride across a historical backdrop, suspense and passion collide in an unyielding dance of survival and redemption. Who will survive the Trans-Mongolian Express?
Heart of Gold
A new thriller from the critically acclaimed novelist Warren Adler, well known for his iconic novel turned box office hit, The War of the Roses, and many more notable titles including Random Hearts, Target Churchill and Mother Nile… Milton Gold is a fringe operating “hustling lawyer,” barely making it in the cutthroat chaos of 1970s New York City. His world is suddenly turned inside out when he meets the mysterious and beautiful Karla Smith, a Polish-American woman, who approaches him with an assignment that will test his skills beyond anything he has ever experienced. Karla hires him to find what he thinks will lead to his biggest payout yet: her inheritance of one-hundred million dollars in gold coins hidden by her banker father from the Nazis during World War II. Despite his skepticism he joins Karla in a fantastic, dangerous and adventurous trek through communist dominated Europe to Auschwitz where the treasure has been hidden in an unsuspecting place. Milton and Karla discover things along the way that profoundly change their relationship and ultimately test their moral view of the world and society. Balanced with humor and tragedy, Heart of Gold explores the brutality of life behind the iron curtain and the boundaries of morality during the darkest days of the Cold War.
Treadmill
When a healthy diet and daily exercise are not recommended. Jack Cooper is an unhappy man; mind, body, and spirit. In the blink of an eye, he lost his job to the economy, his mother to illness, and his wife to her secret lover. Beaten, broken, and crippled by tragedy, he has withdrawn into total isolation, maintaining the simplest of routines in order to block out his pain. Cooper’s day begins with a strenuous workout at the Bethesda Health Club—his personal oasis where his mind and body are free—and ends inside his bare apartment, where he escapes into his library of novels until he finally loses himself in sleep. Nothing more, nothing less. That is, until he meets the enigmatic Mike Parrish. Stolen from the hospital as a newborn, and passed around from household to household, Parrish has no official identification. To the government and the world at large, he does not exist. He is an anonymous drifter, but also the first person who breaks through Cooper’s emotional confinement. Cooper finds solace in his friendship with Parrish, a man who understands his plight, and is sympathetic to his pain. But then Parrish suddenly disappears, leaving Cooper to search for a virtually invisible man. As he looks for clues as intangible as ghosts, and chases leads as fleeting as shadows, his search leads him back to the one place he called his refuge: the Bethesda Health Club.
NOBODIES
(Feature/Television)
A high-stakes, character-driven thriller set in today’s hyper-connected world where digital surveillance tracks our every move. When Henry Devlin, a disgraced tech genius framed for financial crimes, crosses paths with Amber Dixon, a con artist fleeing a violent mobster, they discover their greatest weapon isn’t just their combined skills in hacking and deception—it’s their unlikely partnership. They are two damaged antiheroes who have perfected the art of being invisible, but now they must choose between the safety of solitude and the dangerous vulnerability of trust. As each day in hiding grows more dangerous, they’re forced to fight an entire system with nothing but their wits, their secrets, and a connection that could either save them or expose them to the very forces hunting them down. See more about NOBODIES.
Team
Jonathan Robert Adler
CEO/Managing Member
Jonathan Adler is CEO of Adler Entertainment Trust, LLC and Grey Eagle Development, LLC. Both entities are dedicated exclusively to developing and producing Warren Adler’s 59-book library alongside newly published titles — including the historical fiction prequel and sequel novels The Trans Mongolian Express and Mission Churchill, Flanagan’s Dolls plus Flanagan’s Strings, and Nobodies (2025), recently updated by Shannon McKenna —plus five plays, over 100 short stories, film, television, live stage, podcasts, pop ups and other NEW INTERACTIVE MEDIA for both domestic and international audiences.
Coming in 2027: Little Black Dress by Warren Adler and Shannon McKenna
A dark comedy about a single mother who cannot stop telling the truth — and loses every job because of it. Facing eviction and her daughter’s lost college future, Grace lets her fashion-designer best friend Terrell talk her into the unthinkable: hunting rich widowers at society funerals, one couture dress at a time. Each little black dress (LBD) makes her someone new — until the con starts becoming her real life.
Equal parts Devil Wears Prada wit and Barbie swagger, with Warren Adler’s signature dark comic bite, this will be a glossy, high-concept film property — fashion, farce, and fierce female empowerment and friendship, with a gut-punch third act that turns satire into something real.
Career & Background
Jonathan has been an entrepreneurial force in media, management, and M&A for the past 40-plus years. Since age 19, when he helped found and manage Washington Dossier magazine, Adler has built, bought, and sold businesses ranging in revenue from $5M to $100M, and has managed teams from start-ups to over 2,500 employees.
He has also been a successful investor in more than 25 other companies-private equity and projects, including Sport and Health Clubs, Bizbash Media, EPI-Colorspace, Goodshuffle, various cannabis entities, and The Adler Group. Jonathan has been a member of YPO for 33 years and enjoys coaching and mentoring African American entrepreneurs through his affiliation with Beyond CEO Coaching.
The War of the Roses Returns: Major Film, Book & Stage Events
In 2025, we were thrilled to announce that The War of the Roses was making a triumphant return to center stage — across film, books, and theater (West End, 2027–28) — cementing Warren Adler’s classic dark comedy as a timeless cultural touchstone.
Searchlight Pictures’ worldwide theatrical release was directed by Jay Roach and written by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Tony McNamara (The Favourite, Poor Things). This reimagining stars Oscar winners Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch as Ivy and Theo Rose, a seemingly perfect power couple whose marriage spectacularly unravels in the most deliciously diabolical way. The all-star cast also includes Kate McKinnon, Andy Samberg, Allison Janney, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Demetriou, Zoë Chao, and Belinda Bromilow.
To celebrate the release, the original novel The War of the Roses was re-published worldwide in summer 2025 with an all-new cover — offering longtime fans and new readers alike a chance to experience the brilliant, biting satire that started it all.
And the excitement doesn’t end there. Coming to London’s West End in 2027–28, The War of the Roses will hit the stage in a thrilling new adaptation and related podcast, bringing Warren Adler’s explosive portrait of marital warfare to life with all the dark humor, pathos, and emotional fireworks that have captivated audiences for decades. Stay tuned for more updates and behind-the-scenes features as we celebrate the legacy — the future plus our new Live Pop ups and other Live interactive entertainment initiatives.
Current Projects in Development
The Children of the Roses • Fiona Fitzgerald’s Homicide Detective (8-book series) • Target Churchill / Mission Churchill • Little Black Dress • Heart of Gold • Torture Man • Random Hearts • Beneath the Ivory Tower • Cult • The Serpent (The Serpent’s Bite) • Funny Boys • Dead in the Water • The Sunset Gang • Private Lies • Residue • Flanagan’s Pursuits (Flanagan’s Dolls) • The Trans-Siberian Express / Trans Mongolian Express • Natural Enemies • Housewife Blues • Banquet Before Dawn • Finding Grace • Mother Nile • The War of the Roses
Adler Entertainment Trust is currently in the process of actively seeking development and producing partners for the rest of Warren Adler’s vast library.
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News
AET Press Releases
Benedict Cumberbatch & Olivia Colman Team With Jay Roach On ‘The War Of The Roses’ Reimagining For Searchlight
deadline.com
Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman to Star in Jay Roach’s ‘The War of the Roses’ Reimagining for Searchlight
variety.com
Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman to Star in ‘War of the Roses’ Remake for Searchlight
hollywoodreporter.com
Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman to star in ’The War Of The Roses’ reimagining at Searchlight
screendaily.com