U.S. net Starz is developing Entertainment One Television’s Havana Quartet, a one-hour drama based on a four-part detective book series from Cuban writer Leonardo Padura.

Antonino Banderas is set to star in the series as well as executive produce. Havana Quartet tells the story of a hard-drinking, romantic Cuban police detective named Mario Conda (played by Banderas), who wants to be a writer but ended up doing police work.

Cuban writer Eduardo Machado, who also worked as a writer and producer on Starz’s Magic City and HBO’s Hung, will pen the pilot for Havana Quartet and executive produce alongside Banderas. Other executive producers on the project include Jennifer Kawaja and Julia Sereny of Toronto-based Sienna Films and Peter Nadermann of Nadcon Films. eOne EVP of global productions Carrie Stein will oversee the series for the studio along with Becca Tesarfreund, director of development at eOne.

eOne will serve as the studio on Havana Quartet and produce the series, as well as handle worldwide distribution. Starz will have all network pay TV and SVOD rights for Havana Quartet.

Starz made the Havana Quartet announcement last week during its presentation at the Television Critics Association press tour event in Beverly Hills.

Photo credit: Denis Makarenko / Shutterstock.com