Universal Global Television is developing a TV series based on Jessica Knoll's new novel "Helpless", Variety has exclusively reported. The book was published on 7 July by Scribner and acquired by UGT's Creative Acquisitions & IP Management team, with Knoll adapting her own work for the screen and serving as executive producer. The move continues Hollywood's appetite for adapting popular contemporary fiction, particularly Knoll's, whose earlier novel "Luckiest Girl Alive" became a 2022 film starring Mila Kunis.

"Helpless" follows Faye Heron, a Hollywood producer who reunites with a former college flame, Henry Spalding, at their late professor's funeral, only to be drugged, kidnapped and held captive at his remote mountain cabin as a years-old mystery unravels. Two-time Academy Award nominee Stacy Sher — known for "Erin Brockovich", "Django Unchained", "Pulp Fiction" and the recent A24 horror "Heretic" — is attached to executive produce. Knoll praised Sher's track record and the UGT team, likening the collaboration to a winning lottery ticket. Knoll is represented by WME for books and CAA for film and TV.