'The Daughters of Kobani': Hillary and Chelsea Clinton developing new TV series about all-female Kurdish militia

The mother-daughter duo have optioned Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's brilliant book

Hillary Rodham Clinton and daughter Chelsea Clinton are producing a drama TV series about an all-female Kurdish militia group. Getty Images

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, are set to produce their first scripted television drama.

The mother-daughter duo, through their company HiddenLight Productions, have recently acquired TV rights to Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage, and Justice, which is due to be published on February 16.

We created HiddenLight to celebrate heroes – sung and unsung alike

The book, based on hundreds of hours of interviews and years of on-the-ground reporting, is about the all-female Kurdish militia who successfully took on ISIS in the northern Syrian town of Kobani.

The women played a central role in neutralising the group, earning the respect, and military support, of the US Special Operations Forces, as well as changing women's lives in their small corner of the Middle East – and beyond.

"The Daughters of Kobani is an extraordinary account of brave, defiant women fighting for justice and equality," says the former first lady.

"We created HiddenLight to celebrate heroes – sung and unsung alike – whose courage is too often overlooked, and we could not be more thrilled to bring this inspiring story to viewers around the world."

'The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage, and Justice'. Courtesy Penguin Press

The Clintons launched their production company, alongside actor Sam Branson, in December. It is a global studio, with hubs in London, New York and Los Angeles, that seeks to create documentary, unscripted and scripted entertainment for TV, film and digital.

"With world-class production and the discovery of new talent at its heart, HiddenLight works with fresh and iconic voices from across the globe to tell stories that celebrate the best of the human spirit and help us see the world in new ways," reads a statement on the company's website.

Their first project, called Gutsy Women, is an event docuseries for Apple TV+ based on the 2019 bestseller The Book of Gutsy Women: Favourite Stories of Courage and Resilience, also by Hillary and Chelsea. It aims to put a cast of women in the spotlight, seeking to answer the question: "What exactly does it take to be a gutsy woman?"

The Daughters of Kobani is their first scripted drama.

This is not the first time Lemmon has had the rights to one of her stories acquired. The author and journalist has also penned two bestsellers: 2011's The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe, a story about a young female entrepreneur working during the years of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, and 2015's Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield, which is being adapted by Reese Witherspoon's company as a feature film for Universal Pictures.

"The Daughters of Kobani is an unforgettable and nearly mythic tale of women's power and courage," said Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert. "Brilliantly researched and respectfully reported, this book is a lesson in heroism, sacrifice and the real meaning of sisterhood."