France-based producer and distributor Gaumount has acquired the format rights to ComediHa!’s dramedy About Anthony.

The Quebec-based series is currently in development in collaboration with Quebecor Content. Gaumont made the acquisition based on the original scripts from writer Cathleen Rouleau (pictured). Daniel Grou (Cardinal, Lupin), also known as Podz, is attached to direct the original Quebec version.

About Anthony, which is inspired by Rouleau’s own life, follows a woman who ends up becoming a stepmom to her boyfriend’s two children. One of them, Anthony, is described as a loveable a nine-year-old who also happens to be “physically disabled, intellectually challenged, autistic, non-verbal and a high-functioning epileptic.”

Development for About Anthony has been supported by Quebecor Content, the Canada Media Fund, the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) and AMI-télé. A production date for the original Quebec version has not been scheduled yet.

“About Anthony is so successful in treating disability as more than an issue but a part of life itself,” said Isabelle Degeorges, president of Gaumont Television France, in a statement. “This series is a must-watch. It’s compassionate, funny and a welcome break from the doom and gloom of the past couple of years.”

“It’s a great source of pride that the series About Anthony has moved Gaumont’s senior management to such an extent that they decided to acquire it and adapt it for the French market, even before the series has been produced here in Quebec,” added Sylvain Parent-Bédard, president and CEO of ComediHa!.

Gaumont previously acquired Quebec comedy feature Menteur for a local adaptation, which went into production in 2021 and is expected to be released to French audiences this year.

Photo by Audric Gagnon