Bill Clinton’s Novel With James Patterson to Be Adapted for Showtime

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Soon President Trump won’t be the only American president with TV ties. Showtime announced that it had acquired the rights to develop the novel being written by former President Bill Clinton and James Patterson, the best-selling author, into a series.

The details about the novel, titled “The President Is Missing,” have been scant since the project was announced in May. The novel, to be published in 2018, tells the story about a sitting president that has gone missing.

“I’m really enjoying writing this book and working with Jim,” Mr. Clinton said in a statement. “And I can’t wait to see Showtime bring the characters to life.”

No release date was announced for the television version of the novel, but it is certainly an unconventional post-presidency venture. Former presidents routinely write memoirs but rarely delve into fiction. (In 2003 Jimmy Carter wrote “The Hornet’s Nest,” a novel set in the Revolutionary War.) A spokeswoman for Showtime said that the deal came together with assistance from CBS’s chief executive, Leslie Moonves. Showtime is a subsidiary of the CBS Corporation.

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