Out Writer Ryan O'Connell Signs to Max Series Based on DeuxMoi Novel 'Anon Pls'

Openly gay "Special" and "Will & Grace" scribe Ryan O'Connell has signed on, along with "Juno" screenwriter Diablo Cody, to a new Max series based on the novel "Anon Pls" by DeuxMoi, Variety reported.

"As initially reported in May 2022, the project is currently set up at Max with a script-to-series commitment," the entertainment publication detailed, adding that Berlanti Productions – headed by out producer Greg Berlanti – is developing the series "in association with Warner Bros. Television." Berlanti himself is among the series' executive producers.

"When Cricket Lopez, assistant to one of the most notorious celebrity stylists, revamps her old style Instagram account and turns it into a celebrity gossip blog on a drunken whim, she never thinks it will become anything," the synopsis for the 2022 novel reads, Variety noted.

"But when the account grows overnight and, even wilder, when she starts getting gossip from fans – juicy gossip – she has to face facts: her Instagram is now famous," the synopsis says.

"Though no one knows that she is behind the account, its newfound success is affecting her real life. Her boss wonders why she's disappearing on the job, her friends are increasingly irritated by her dedication to the account, and she has celebrities, investors, and journalists approaching her with bright-eyed interest."

"Plus, there's a steamy new love interest who she meets through her online persona – except she has no idea if she can truly trust his motives. But as the account grows and becomes more and more famous, she has to wonder: is it – the fame, the insider access, the escape from real life – really worth losing everything she has?"

"O'Connell previously created and starred in the semi-autobiographical Netflix series 'Special,' based on his memoir 'I'm Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves,'" Variety recalled, adding that "Special" "earned two Emmy nominations during its two-season run at Netflix." O'Connell also starred in "Special," and was a writer and cast member for the short-lived Peacock reboot of "Queer As Folk."

Cody, the outlet recounted, "is best known for writing the critically-acclaimed comedy feature 'Juno,' for which she won the Academy Award for best original screenplay in 2008," as well as creating and producing the Toni Collette series "United States of Tara," which aired on Showtime, and co-creating the comedy "One Mississippi" with Tig Notaro for Amazon.

Both writers will executive produce the new series, as will the anonymous creators behind the blog DeuxMoi and the novel on which the series is based.