Anyone who has been religiously following the work of SA Cosby will be pleased to know that one of the African-American author’s books is being adapted by Netflix into a nine-episode series.
The book in question is "All the Sinners Bleed", one of the books endorsed by former US President Barack Obama in his 2023 Summer Reading list.
Casting is underway for the project, which falls under the ‘Southern noir’ sub-genre of fiction that has previously witnessed significant contributions from such celebrated masters as Jim Thompson, Cormac McCarthy, James M. Cain, John D. McDonald, William Faulkner, and more.
Joe Robert Cole, who wrote Black Panther and The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, is adapting Cosby's book for the screen as well as directing and serving as showrunner. Cosby is involved as executive producer along with Cole.
All of Cosby's books have been on the top best-selling charts, beginning with "My Darkest Prayer", followed by "Blacktop Wasteland", "Razorblade Tears", and "All the Sinners Bleed".
His latest book, "King of Ashes", was published this year in June.
Cosby's crime stories mostly revolve around a devastating incident in a town with its own dark history, and include various characters from law enforcement, living on the fringes, and across the moral spectrum.
"All the Sinners Bleed" has a Black sheriff from a Bible Belt county in pursuit of a serial killer who has been using God and religion as an excuse to target the Black community for ages. Sope Dirisu, familiar to audiences from the British gangster series Gangs of London, plays the sheriff, Titus Crown.
John Douglas Thompson, recently seen in Highest 2 Lowest with Denzel Washington, plays Crown’s father. Thompson’s previous acting credits include Mare of Easttown and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Details of more cast members are expected soon. The casting of two efficient actors, such as Dirisu and Thompson, is an inspiring development as Cosby’s sharp writing and dialogue require actors of such strong calibre and screen presence.
