National Geographic Channel has ordered eight episodes of a scripted miniseries adaptation of Martha Raddatz's best-selling novel The Long Road Home. Production will begin early in 2017, with a premiere later in the year.
The Long Road Home will relive a heroic fight for survival during the Iraq War when the First Cavalry Division from Fort Hood, Texas was ferociously ambushed on April 4, 2004 in Sadr City, Baghdad - a day that came to be known in military annals as "Black Sunday." The series will cut between the soldiers on the ground and the homefont in Texas where their wives and families await news for 48 hellish hours, expecting the worst. The incident changed the American military's view of Iraw from a peacekeeping mission to a fight against domestic insurgents.
Mikko Alanne (The 33) is writing the adaptation. He executive produces with Mike Medavoy, Jason Clark, Benjamin Anderson and Edward McGurn.
"With The Long Road Home, we're going to tell the inspiring story of the selfless heroism and bravery of U.S. soldiers in extraordinary and terrifying circumstances. We're also going to shine a light on the sisterhood formed by their wives on the homefront as they rally around each other awaiting news of their husbands' fates," said Carolyn Bernstein, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Scripted Programming and Development, National Geographic Channel.
