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Netflix is moving forward with early development on a series based on the acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe play Eat the Rich (But Maybe Not Me Mates X). The project has sparked serious attention across the industry after a strong run at the festival this past August, where it became one of the most talked about new works of the year. Interest from streamers and networks quickly turned into a competitive race, and multiple sources say Netflix won a full bidding war for the rights.
The streamer has now secured a development deal with Philip Barantini, the director behind Adolescence, through his company Its All Made Up Productions. Barantini runs the company with Samantha Beddoe, known for her work on Boiling Point. A Netflix spokesperson confirmed the partnership and stated that the rights to Eat the Rich are being picked up in connection with this wider deal. The move signals a strong show of confidence in the material and in Barantini himself, who has become one of the most in demand directors in the UK.
The play is the work of Jade Franks and is inspired by her own life as a working class student navigating the rarefied world of Cambridge. In the story, the lead character Jade arrives as a first year student from Liverpool. She tries to find her footing in an environment shaped by old traditions and quiet rules that often favor wealth and inherited advantage. While her classmates lean on comfort, Jade juggles secret cleaning shifts to afford her time at university. The contrast between her reality and the privilege around her forms the core of the play’s sharp and honest look at class and belonging in the UK.
Franks plans to adapt the script herself, following in the path of Richard Gadd who successfully turned his own one person play into the global Netflix hit Baby Reindeer. Her meetings with producers in both the UK and the United States helped fuel the excitement around the project, though it is still in early development. As with any work at this stage, a series order is not guaranteed, but the momentum behind Eat the Rich makes it a strong contender.
The original production was created with JFR Productions and directed by Tatenda Shamiso. During its Fringe run, the show won multiple major awards including The Scotsman Fringe First Award, The Holden Street Theatres Award and The Filipa Braganca Award. It will soon transfer to the Soho Theatre in London for a short run, where interest is expected to remain high.
If the adaptation moves ahead, it would join a growing line of Fringe plays that have made the leap to television. Baby Reindeer set the tone and became one of Netflix’s most influential shows of 2024, while other Fringe standouts have also been scouted for screen development. With its mix of humor, bite and lived experience, Eat the Rich appears ready to follow that path.
