Justin Hartley Developing TV Adaptation Of Isabella Maldonado Novel ‘A Forgotten Kill’ With Diana Son For ABC

EXCLUSIVE: ABC is in development on A Forgotten Kill, a TV adaptation of the Isabella Maldonado novel of the same name, released in 2024. Justin Hartley (Change Up Productions) will executive produce through his overall deal at 20th Television.

Diana Son (Line of Fire, Butterfly) will write and executive produce the drama project, alongside fellow EPs Ken Olin, who will also direct, and Maldonado.

The show is centered on ex–Army Ranger Dani Vega, a Nuyorican from the Lower East Side and dauntless FBI agent whose specialty is breaking codes and detecting patterns. As part of a task force, Dani is partnered with NYPD Detective Mark Flint. Their clashing styles give them an edge in solving crimes and expose an undeniable chemistry, but Dani is haunted by a secret: a family tragedy in her past that comes back to put her career and life at risk.

A Forgotten Kill is the second novel in Maldonado’s FBI Special Agent Daniela Vega Series, which sits between A Killer’s Game (2023) and the newest title, A Killer’s Code (2025).

Maldonado is a retired police captain and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of numerous suspense and thriller series. A graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the first Latina to attain the rank of captain in her department, she spent over two decades on the force before her final post as the commander of Special Investigations and Forensics. Other positions included hostage negotiator, department spokesperson, and precinct commander. She uses her law enforcement background to bring a realistic edge to her books, which are published in 26 languages and sold in 53 countries. Maldonado is repped by CAA and Liza Royce Associates.

Son is a showrunner, writer, and producer for TV and an award-winning playwright. She is currently a co-executive producer on NBC’s upcoming Josh Safran series Line of Fire, and served as an executive producer of the recent Daniel Dae Kim-led Prime Video series Butterfly. Additional credits include Netflix’s Thirteen Reasons Why (EP, Co-Showrunner), ABC’s American Crime (Co-EP), and Genius: Aretha for NatGeo (EP). For her contributions to American Crime as a co-EP, Son was recognized as part of a group Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Limited Series in 2015 and 2016. She is repped by CAA and Yorn Levine Barnes.

Actor and producer Justin Hartley currently stars in and executive produces the CBS hit drama series Tracker, now in its third season and continuing its reign as the most-watched entertainment series on network television. The series is based on the bestselling novel The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver, and is produced by Hartley’s ChangeUp Productions, which is under an overall deal with 20th Television. Before that, Hartley starred in NBC’s critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning drama This Is Us. Additionally, he made his directorial debut in the show’s fourth season episode titled “A Hell of a Week: Part Three.” Hartley is repped by CAA and attorneys Karl R. Austen and Michael A. Auerbach.