Follett's The Pillars of the Earth to be a Miniseries

The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Starz Entertainment has bought the U.S. television rights to The Pillars of the Earth, an epic novel by Ken Follett about the building of a cathedral in 12th century England. The eight-part mini-series will begin airing this summer.

The Pillars of the Earth is a wonderful book. Published in 1989, it was a real departure for Ken Follett, who until that time was known for writing thrillers. Pillars of the Earth became his best-selling book, topping 14 million copies. In 2007 it became an Oprah Book Club pick. I remember reading this thick novel when it first released. Our daughter was a newborn. My. Can't believe it's been 20 years.

New Starz CEO Chris Albrecht (joining the company in January of this year), who acquired the miniseries, has overseen such large productions before. As former head of HBO he produced the Emmy-Award winning Band of Brothers. Starz will launch The Pillars of the Earth miniseries in July with a two-hour premiere, followed by six one-hour episodes.

In our household we don't receive any pay-TV stations such as Starz. But no worries. Eventually this miniseries will find its way to DVD, as Band of Brothers did. The Pillars of the Earth will be worth buying if it's anywhere near as good as the book.