Rep. Israel’s novel to be adapted for television

Bill San Antonio

Rep. Steve Israel’s 2014 comedic novel, “The Global War on Morris,” is being turned into a television show, according to a published report.

According to a story published Monday by the entertainment industry trade publication Deadline, director Rob Reiner and Andrew Lenchewski, a Roslyn native and co-creator/executive producer of the USA Network series “Royal Pains,” have acquired the rights to develop Israel’s (D-Huntington) book into a cable series.

An e-mail placed to Israel’s office was not immediately returned Monday.

A political satire, “The Global War on Morris” follows a pharmaceutical salesman from Long Island who mistakenly becomes the U.S. government’s primary terrorist target. It was published on Dec. 30, 2014 by Simon & Schuster.

Deadline reported the project originated out of a longtime friendship between Lenchewski and Israel, who in November was re-elected to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District, which extends from Queens across parts of northern Nassau and Suffolk counties. 

Lenchewski, Reiner and Alan Greisman, Reiner’s producing partner, will be executive producers on the project, according to Deadline. 

A search is underway for a writer to adapt the novel, according to the report.

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