Fans of John Grisham’s best-selling courtroom mysteries rejoice!

After over two decades since the release of the late Joel Shumacher’s hit courtroom crime thriller, A Time to Kill, about a Mississippi lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) defending a black man (Samuel L. Jackson) from the Ku Klux Klan, Deadline reports HBO has not only acquired the rights to the newest John Grisham novel, A Time For Mercy, but is moving forward with the project, developing it as a limited series with Matthew McConaughey set to reprise his role of defense attorney Jake Brigance.

Interestingly, A Time For Mercy, which was published in late 2020, is not the only sequel Grisham wrote to the original novel. The first sequel, entitled Sycamore Row, was released in 2013 and features the return of Jake Brigance. Despite its popularity and place on the US Bestsellers list, Sycamore Row was never adapted, with Grisham’s third outing, “A Time For Mercy,” being the subject of Warner Bros. interest. The official synopsis for “A Time For Mercy “can be read below:

Clanton, Mississippi. 1990. Jake Brigance finds himself embroiled in a deeply divisive trial when the court appoints him attorney for Drew Gamble, a timid sixteen-year-old boy accused of murdering a local deputy. Many in Clanton want a swift trial and the death penalty, but Brigance digs in and discovers that there is more to the story than meets the eye. Jake’s fierce commitment to saving Drew from the gas chamber puts his career, his financial security, and the safety of his family on the line. In what may be the most personal and accomplished legal thriller of John Grisham’s storied career, we deepen our acquaintance with the iconic Southern town of Clanton and the vivid cast of characters that so many readers know and cherish. The result is a richly rewarding novel that is both timely and timeless, full of wit, drama, and – most of all – heart.