The Canadian romantic sports drama, Heated Rivalry, was the center of attention last year for its sultry and bold scenes. The show, based on Rachel Reid's Game Changers book series (specifically the 2019 novel of the same name), blew up on social media with its release last year, and with it, the creator of the show, Jacob Tierney, also shot to fame. The writer-director, who has given several thought-provoking works to the Canadian cinema, is now set to make a global mark riding on his recent success and, now, Netflix.

His next association is going to be with Jason Bateman and the streaming giant for a period drama involving two significant historical figures.

Jacob Tierney is roped in to write and direct Alexander, a drama about Alexander the Great's adolescent years. The historical drama will explore the bond of friendship and mentorship between the philosopher and the future ruler's tutor, Aristotle, and Alexander himself. Tierney will also be executive producing the series with fellow Heated Rivalry executive producer Brendan Brady, Jason Bateman, and Michael Costigan of Aggregate Films.

The drama, which is based on Annabel Lyon's 2009 novel, The Golden Mean, opens with the Athenian empire in disarray and Aristotle, the greatest thinker in history, traveling to Macedonia to mentor Alexander, a dangerous young ruler. Their unexpected friendship transforms an empire and changes the path of history amid palace intrigue, forbidden love, bloody war, and vicious aspirations.

“Brendan and I couldn’t be more excited to be partnering with Aggregate and Netflix to bring this insanely compelling world to life,” said Tierney as per Netflix Tudum, expressing his feelings on this amazing collaboration with the streaming giant. He is pumped to bring Annabel Lyon’s literary work to the screen in the best way possible, which has been his dream ever since he read the book years ago. 

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Nevertheless, there are also people who are not aware of the source material of this drama.

The Golden Mean was the first piece of literary work that Annabel Lyon has ever written. It hit bookshelves in August 2009, and by 2010, it had already become an international bestseller. The novel is known to reinvent the 4th century BC and Alexander the Great's childhood, mixing polished prose and exhilarating immediacy with a regal timelessness.

The Golden Mean by Lyon was awarded the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize in 2009. Then came The Sweet Girl, a follow-up on Pythias, Aristotle's daughter, released in 2012. The source material seems to be a celebrated work of art and gradually puts immense pressure on Tierney to adapt this epic to its rightful glory.

Netflix has created much hype around this project by tying Jacob Tierney’s, as well as Jason Bateman's, name to it, and the expectations from here on will only skyrocket. While this drama is in the works, and despite there being no interconnectivity apart from its helmer, fans have something ahead of Heated Rivalry season 2 to look forward to. 

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What do you think of Netflix’s decision to bring in Jacob Tierney and Jason Bateman for this historical drama? Share your thoughts in the comments.