Steve Israel book may be made into TV series

Rep. Steve Israel's satire about government terrorism surveillance, which is set on Long Island, is on its way to becoming a comedy series for cable TV after the rights to it were acquired by Rob Reiner and "Royal Pains" co-creator and executive producer Andrew Lenchewski, Israel confirmed Monday.

The idea for a series based on Israel's book, "The Global War On Morris," is not quite a done deal -- it still must be developed and then picked up by a studio, said Israel, a Huntington Democrat, who is working on a second satirical book.

"Reiner just gets the exclusive rights to develop it," Israel said in an exchange of emails. "There is no compensation unless it is picked up by a studio."

But Israel said he was wowed by having Reiner acquire his work for a project.

"It's like Tom Seaver telling me he wants to have a catch," Israel said, referring to the Hall of Fame pitcher who spent nearly a dozen years with the New York Mets.

"The Global War On Morris," published Dec. 30 by Simon & Schuster, tells the story of a meek pharmaceutical salesman from Long Island mistakenly targeted by government agents as a major terrorist. Israel said he was inspired to write it by learning in a House Armed Services Committee hearing that the federal government had conducted surveillance on elderly Quakers protesting the war.

News of the deal was first reported by Deadline Hollywood, an online site that publishes breaking entertainment industry news.