Octavia Spencer, Krista Vernoff, & Meghann Plunkett Bringing Ashley Elston Novel “First Lie Wins” to Hulu

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Octavia Spencer, Krista Vernoff, & Meghann Plunkett Bringing Ashley Elston Novel “First Lie Wins” to Hulu

Octavia Spencer is collaborating with “Grey’s Anatomy” showrunner Krista Vernoff and “Station 19” writer Meghann Plunkett on a Hulu adaptation of Ashley Elston’s upcoming novel, “First Lie Wins.” Now in development, the project “landed at Hulu and ABC Signature following a bidding war,” per The Hollywood Reporter.

A “twisty cat-and-mouse thriller,” “First Lie Wins” is set for publication early next year. It is Elston’s first adult novel.

“Station 19” colleagues Vernoff and Plunkett will reunite to write and executive produce the adaptation; the former showruns “Station 19” and the latter has served as writer and story editor on the firefighter drama. Plunkett was also a story editor on Vernoff’s short-lived legal drama “Rebel.”

Spencer and Elston are among the project’s EPs as well.

Spencer won an Oscar for her supporting turn in “The Help” and snagged additional nominations for “Hidden Figures” and “The Shape of Water.” She exec produces and stars in Apple’s “Truth Be Told,” which is now shooting its third season. Her other recent credits include “Encounter” and “Thunder Force.”

“First Lie Wins” marks Vernoff’s first streaming project. She counts “Shameless,” “Private Practice,” and the original “Charmed” among her many writing-producing credits. She also helmed a 2018 episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.”

An award-winning poet, Plunkett is a poetry reader at The New Yorker and a writer in residence at Omega Institute.

A prolific YA author, Elston’s previous novels include “The Rules for Disappearing” and “10 Blind Dates.”