ABC to Develop 'How to Survive a Plague' Into Miniseries.

“How to Survive a Plague”, the Academy Award nominee, might have been ignored at the Oscars, but it seems to have caught the eye at ABC.

ABC Studios has reportedly purchased the filming rights for the documentary, in hopes of turning it into a miniseries.

For those who didn’t catch the documentary, here’s a synopsis: “’How to Survive a Plague’ is the story of two coalitions -- ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) -- whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time. With unfettered access to a treasure trove of never-before-seen archival footage from the 1980s and '90s, filmmaker David France puts the viewer smack in the middle of the controversial actions, the heated meetings, the heartbreaking failures, and the exultant breakthroughs of heroes in the making.”

But how would that work as a miniseries?

According to ABC, pretty well.

They intend to expand on the various stories featured in the documentary, and focus on, not just AIDS and what AIDS has wrought upon the world, but about the civil rights movements that have sprung up around the AIDS crisis, specifically the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender movements.

ABC has done something of this proportion before, with “Roots” in the 70s. And with the success of ‘limited series’ miniseries that are educational as well as entertaining such as “Hatfields & McCoys”, there could just be room on America’s DVR for this show.