TV series based on Mia Freedman’s book in the works

Mamamia founder and media personality Mia Freedman’s life — chronicled in her memoir Work Strife Balance — is being developed into a new TV series, Annette Sharp reveals.

Rights to Mia Freedman’s memoir have been picked up by an Aussie TV company.

The everyday struggles of media personality and online publisher Mia Freedman are headed to the small screen.

Industry sources have confirmed the rights to Freedman’s 2017 memoir Work Strife Balance have been picked up by an unnamed Australian television company.

A writers’ room led by the author of ABC comedy The Letdown, Sarah Scheller, is now toiling to turn the memoir into a scripted dramedy, in all likelihood – and like The Letdown – a short series for television.

Freedman will have a producer’s credit on the series which is said to be inspired by, but not faithfully based on, her memoir.

“It’s a more broadly based story about what is happening in society with women who want to and can have it all,” said one production industry insider during the week.

Mia Freedman’s book will be developed into a TV series.

Work Strife Balance by Mia Freedman.

This column understands the main character will not be named after Freedman but will be based on the manic mother-of-three who has built a media company talking to women about the strengths and foibles of the fairer sex including her own battles with body image, bulimia, motherhood, miscarriage and, more recently, a late ADHD diagnosis.

Also in the writers’ room is Freedman’s soon-to-be daughter-in-law Jessie Stephens who is set to marry Freedman’s eldest son Luca Lavigne.

Mia Freedman with her three children, Luca, Remy and Coco.

Stephens’ star has been rising fast since she joined her future mother-in-law’s company and started overseeing podcasts for the business.

Both Stephens and Lavigne work for Freedman’s company Mamamia which, in keeping the career stress and profits in the family, is also helmed by Freedman’s husband, Jason Lavigne.

Upon the book’s release in 2017, the former Dolly magazine editor, who has been criticised for strategically cherrypicking the life moments she shares with her audience to make herself appear more in tune with her audience and more of an “everywoman” – and less the daughter of multi-millionaire Sydney financier who had a privileged upbringing – said it focused on “the lessons I’ve learned over 45 years”.

Freedman catalogues the ups and downs of her life online. Pictures: Instagram

She added: “The basic premise of Work, Strife, Balance is balance is bullshit.”

Producers are now preoccupied, we hear, on finding an actor to play 51-year-old Freedman who in July flew to Greece to celebrate producer Bruna Papandrea’s 50th birthday along with actors Naomi Watts, Lisa Hensley, Asher Keddie and Mary Coustas – an occasion that inspired Freedman to post images of Greek garbage bins and eyesores to her Instagram account rather than shiny photos of her glamorous posse.

The private school-educated Freedman penned her memoir when she was 37 years old where she skipped over some personal dramas including a marriage break-up, marriage reconciliation and some interesting romances but discussed her miscarriage among other personal matters.