Heated Rivalry Creator Jacob Tierney Lands Alexander the Great Drama at Netflix

Heated Rivalry creator Jacob Tierney will tackle ancient Greece in his next series.

Netflix has given a straight-to-series order for Alexander, which will center on the relationship between the future ruler known as Alexander the Great and his tutor, Aristotle. The show is based on Annabel Lyon’s 2009 novel The Golden Mean.

Tierney will write and direct the series and executive produce with his Accent Aigu Entertainment partner Brendan Brady, who’s also an EP of Heated Rivalry. Jason Bateman and Michael Costigan of Aggregate Films also executive produce.

“I fell in love with Annabel Lyon’s book The Golden Mean years ago and have been dreaming of telling this story ever since,” Tierney said in a statement. “Brendan and I couldn’t be more excited to be partnering with Aggregate and Netflix to bring this insanely compelling world to life.”

Added Jinny Howe, head of U.S. and Canada scripted series at Netflix, “Jacob Tierney is one of the most exciting, in-demand creative voices working today, and we are thrilled to work with him on Alexander. We were immediately captivated by his vision for adapting Annabel Lyon’s acclaimed novel. This series reimagines the classic power struggle between mentor and protégé with a raw, modern energy that feels both epic and incredibly intimate. This high-stakes drama is poised to deeply resonate with our global audience, and we look forward to bringing it to life with the deftly talented Jason Bateman and the Aggregate Films team.”

The logline for Alexander reads, “The Athenian empire is crumbling and the world’s greatest mind, Aristotle, arrives in Macedonia to tutor a volatile young prince, Alexander. Amid palace intrigue, forbidden love, brutal war and ruthless ambitions, their unlikely friendship shapes an empire and alters the course of history.”’

After taking over the throne from his father, King Philip II of Macedon, Alexander waged a series of military campaigns that resulted in one of the largest empires in history, spanning from Greece across the Arabian peninsula and Persia to part of India and southeast into Egypt.

Tierney also co-created the Canadian comedy Letterkenny. Season two of the HBO/Crave breakout Heated Rivalry is slated to begin filming in the summer for a 2027 premiere.

Deadline first reported the news.