Darren Star and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas Land New Peacock Drama Climbing in Heels

Peacock has announced a straight-to-series order for Climbing in Heels in an aggressive bid.  

An adaptation of Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas' upcoming novel (which publishes on April 29), the new Original drama hails from Darren Star (Younger, Sex and the City, Emily in Paris) and Goldsmith-Thomas, a former agent-turned-studio head, writer, and producer. Both will co-write and co-executive produce the series. 

Climbing in Heels is a fictional tale that follows the rise of five ambitious secretaries navigating the glitzy world of 1980s Hollywood while offering a glimpse into the “boys will be boys” club and the women who wanted a seat at a table where they were expected to serve. Described by Star as the “ballsy and bawdy love child of Mad Men and Sex and the City,” it is a story of friendship, betrayal, survival, and ambition, as well as a cautionary tale about how some of those women became very much like the monsters they worked for. 

“I’m so excited to be working with Elaine to bring her addictive novel Climbing in Heels to the screen,” Star said. “I can’t wait for audiences to fall in love with these audacious and ambitious young women.”  

“I am thrilled that Climbing in Heels was taken off the table so quickly by Peacock,” Goldsmith-Thomas said. “It is the perfect home for Darren and I to bring these fabulously complicated and colorful characters to life.” 

Universal Television, where Star is based with a multi-year overall deal, is the studio behind the project.