“Love, Simon” director options new LGBTQ novel

The director of the popular gay rom-com “Love, Simon” may be adapting another LGBTQ work into film, sources said on Monday.

Variety reported that influential director and producer Greg Berlanti has optioned the Young Adult action-adventure novel “The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue.”

The book, which was written by Mackenzi Lee and published in June 2017, has been taken up by Warner Bros TV. Berlanti is supposedly looking for a show-runner to shepherd the project.

According to Variety, the narrative is set in the 17th century, “about a young bisexual British Lord who goes on a European adventure with his biracial best friend (whom he is in love with) and his sister.”

The novel was a hit with critics and audiences, and landed on several 2017 best-of lists. A sequel, “The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy,” will see the light of day in October.

Berlanti is known for producing other shows, such as “Supergirl,” “The Flash,” “Arrow,” and “Black Lightning,” as well as “Blindspot” and “Deception.”

In a profile on Berlanti, Film School Rejects described the producter as “championing positive LGBTQ stories in the film and television industry for two decades. His first feature, The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy, present[ed] an optimistic look at the lives of a group of gay friends dealing with life and love.”

He is also a guiding force behind the soon-to-appear relaunch of “Sabrina, The Teenage Witch.”

After development, the show will be shopped around to interested networks.