Flying Scoop Television, an award-winning production company known for its human-driven storytelling, has optioned the film rights to Evil on the Roof of the World: A Cycling Trip That Ended in Terror, a narrative nonfiction book by William Elliott Hazelgrove. The book, published by Bloomsbury on November 13, 2025, recounts the heartbreaking true story of Lauren Geoghegan and Jay Austin, two young American idealists who left their stable careers in Washington, D.C., to embark on a global cycling journey. In July 2018, on a remote highway in Tajikistan's Pamir Mountains—often called 'the Roof of the World'—Lauren, Jay, and two fellow cyclists were brutally murdered by five ISIS terrorists.
Hazelgrove reconstructs their story through their travel blog, social media posts, interviews with friends and family, and global media coverage, offering a profound exploration of idealism, risk, love, and violence. 'This story is heartbreaking, courageous, and deeply cinematic,' said Mark Finklepearl, Partner and Executive Producer at Flying Scoop. 'Flying Scoop is honored to partner with William Hazelgrove to bring Lauren and Jay's journey—and their legacy—to the screen.'
Flying Scoop has produced hundreds of hours of television for companies such as National Geographic, Discovery, and Fox Nation. Their latest release, The Real Hatfields and McCoys Forever Feuding, was a streaming success. 'Evil on the Roof of the World is about more than a single act of terror,' said Finklepearl. 'It's a meditation on youthful dreaming, unflinching hope, and what happens when that hope collides with the darkest corners of reality.'
Nathaniel Starck, Executive Producer and Director, added: 'Our goal is to adapt the book with integrity—to show the beauty of Lauren and Jay's journey, as well as the tragedy of their loss. This is more than a true crime story: it's a story about two people who believed in connection and risk, and what their lives meant to everyone who knew them.'
The book has drawn comparisons to Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild for its sensitive, deeply researched storytelling. William Elliott Hazelgrove is the National Bestselling author of ten novels and twelve nonfiction titles, with works receiving starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist, among other accolades. More information about the author and his work can be found at www.williamhazelgrove.com.
The adaptation of Evil on the Roof of the World aims to highlight the idealism and hope of Lauren and Jay while confronting the violence that ended their journey. Flying Scoop's track record with story-driven content positions the project to resonate with audiences seeking narratives that explore the human condition.
