Second Act Entertainment and producer Brendan Deneen have teamed to develop Mike Grell’s long-running graphic novel series JON SABLE: FREELANCE as a scripted series.

Grell’s JON SABLE: FREELANCE debuted in 1983 and the character has appeared regularly in comic books and novels since then, including a deluxe hardcover omnibus edition released in 2023. The series has sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. In 1987, ABC aired one season of a SABLE television show, which co-starred Rene Russo in her acting debut and included Lara Flynn Boyle’s first acting role in the show’s pilot episode.

When game warden Jon Sable’s family is slaughtered by ivory poachers, the trail of vengeance leads him across war-torn Africa to enact bloody retribution on those responsible. Deported back to the United States, struggling to build a new life, Sable becomes a freelance mercenary — but his past is not done with him just yet.

Mike Grell is a legendary comic book writer and artist, having started his work at DC Comics in 1973. While Grell has worked on almost every major character for both Marvel and DC, he is perhaps best known for his groundbreaking reboot of Green Arrow, THE LONGBOW HUNTERS, which was the second “prestige format” book published by DC after Frank Miller’s THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. Grell’s work on Green Arrow was the basis for many elements in the CW’s ARROW series — in which Grell also had a cameo in the pilot episode.

William McKinney founded Second Act and is a former Development Executive at Intrigue Entertainment (MARMADUKE, GAME OF SILENCE) where he brought several international shows to American studios for adaptation, including DANGEROUS MOMS. Second Act’s Brendan Vogel is an award-winning screenwriter and graphic novelist.

Brendan Deneen currently has IP-based film and TV projects in development with Netflix, Amazon Studios, Paramount, NBC/Universal, Warner TV, Lionsgate,  Amblin, Walden Media, Skydance,  Anonymous Content, Imagine Entertainment, LuckyChap, 21 Laps, Atomic Monster, Iron Ocean, Perfect Storm, FilmNation, HartBeat, Picturestart, Indian Paintbrush, 3-Arts, Range Media, and Makeready, among others. Deneen is a former development exec for Scott Rudin Productions and Miramax/Dimension Films.