The four-time Emmy nominee and writer of New Girl, as well as co-creator of Dying for Sex, Liz Meriwether is all set to write the screenplay for Universal’s upcoming film adaptation of Britney Spears’ bestselling memoir The Woman in Me.
According to Variety, in August 2024, news broke that Universal Pictures had landed the rights to the Grammy winner’s bestselling memoir, with Wicked director Jon M. Chu and producer Marc Platt attached to develop the feature. (Platt’s production company has a longstanding deal with Universal.) Spears shared news of the secret project herself, writing on social media that Platt has “always made my favorite movies” and telling her fans to “stay tuned” for more news.
Meriwether is writing the first draft of the story about the rise, fall, and rise again of the McComb, Mississippi, native who would become a multi-platinum-selling pop star behind global hits such as “…Baby One More Time,” “Toxic,” and the former internet sensation “Oops!… I Did It Again.”
The Woman in Me is the fastest-selling memoir in Simon & Schuster’s history, selling more than 6 million copies worldwide. Britney Spears signed a $15 million book deal back in 2022. Her career has included several major achievements, including a Grammy Award and sales of nearly 150 million records worldwide, with 70 million albums, singles, and songs sold in the United States alone, according to Nielsen Music.
The memoir reignited public interest in Spears’ life and career, particularly her experiences under the conservatorship that ended in 2021. Those events are expected to play a central role in the upcoming film.
Liz Meriwether is a WGA Award winner for her work on the FX limited series Dying for Sex, which she co-created alongside Kim Rosenstock, and a PGA Award winner for the Hulu limited series The Dropout, about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ rise and fall.
Liz has also received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her work on the two series. However, her breakthrough came with a one-two punch: writing the screenplay for the popular 2011 romantic comedy No Strings Attached, starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, and creating the hit Fox comedy New Girl, starring Zooey Deschanel, which ran for seven seasons.
According to Page Six, companies including Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, Fox, Shonda Rhimes’ production company, Brad Pitt’s Plan B, and Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap were all interested in bringing the story to the screen. However, Universal ultimately secured the film rights.
