Netflix Finds ‘The One,’ a Sci-Fi Adaptation from Urban Myth Films

By Stewart Clarke

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Netflix has greenlit “The One,” a sci-fi series set in a very near future in which a DNA test can match people with their perfect partner. Based on the eponymous John Marrs novel, the 10-part series will be produced by U.K.-based drama shingle Urban Myth Films and launch globally on .

Set five minutes in the future, the series follows events a decade after a scientific breakthrough has allowed people to use DNA testing to find their ideal partner. But even in perfectly matched couples partners have secrets and “The One” follows some that have shocking and deadly consequences, as well as the wider explosive implications of DNA-based pairings.

The series was created and written by Urban Myth’s Howard Overman (“Misfits”) and the producer’s
Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy will exec produce. It is another big win for the scripted banner, which is in pre-production on a modern-day adaptation of “ War of the Worlds ” for Fox on Europe and Africa and Canal Plus. That is being produced with Studiocanal, a backer of Urban Myth , and the studio for “The One.”

Journalist-turned-author Marrs’ other books include “
The Good Samaritan,” and “Welcome to Wherever You Are.” Netflix is ramping up in the U.K. It has just hired Anne Mensah from Sky to spearhead its local drama efforts.