BBC's TV Adaptation of LES MISERABLES Drops Weinstein Company as Partner

Variety reports that BBC Worldwide has dropped The Weinstein Company as a partner on their TV adaptation of LES MISERABLES following multiple allegations of sexual abuse and harassment against the company's founder, Harvey Weinstein.

The BBC had previously removed Weinstein's name as an executive producer on the show. The Weinstein Company was credited as a production partner on the series and also owned distribution rights in the U.S. and China and an option in Canada. That distribution agreement is no longer in place.

LES MISERABLES is a six-part adaptation of Victor Hugo's 19th-century classic novel, produced by BBC Studios and Lookout Point for flagship channel BBC One. When the joint project was first announced, Weinstein commented that the partnership was, "a new paradigm in the telling of classics - they're modern and yet respectful."

It is expected that BBC Worldwide will now take over the distribution of the show in the U.S. and China. The network has not commented on the report.

The musical adaptation of LES MISERABLES is based on the novel Les Miserables by French poet and novelist Victor Hugo. Premiering in Paris in 1980, it has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg and original French-language lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, alongside an English-language libretto with accompanying English-language lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. The London production has run continuously since October 1985 - the longest-running musical in the West End and the second longest-running musical in the world.

The Broadway production opened in March 1987 and ran until May 2003, closing after 6,680 performances. It is the fifth longest-running Broadway show in history and was the second-longest at the time. The show was nominated for 12 TONY AWARDS and won eight, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. A Broadway revival opened in 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre and closed in 2008, and a second Broadway revival opened in 2014 and is currently running at the Imperial Theatre.

In 2012, a film adaptation from Universal Pictures hit theaters. Directed by Tom Hooper, and scripted by William Nicholson, Boublil, Schönberg, and Herbert Kretzmer, the film starred an ensemble cast led by Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe,Anne Hathaway, and Amanda Seyfried. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Hathaway won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Image courtesy of Les Miserables Official Site