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Russ & Daughters – the iconic Jewish appetizer shop on the Lower East Side – could use some TV treatment.
Time Studios has signed a deal with Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper, fourth-generation owners and first cousins of the family business, to shop around for a scripted drama about the mouthwatering shop’s history.
Joel Russ immigrated from Poland in 1907 and, after first selling barrel herring, opened a shop in 1914.
The appetizing shop moved in 1920 to its current location in East Houston, where it’s known for its bagels and smoked salmon, as well as its long lines on weekends.
“I think the show is going to…really resonate because we’re coming out of a time where people are feeling very disconnected and living through screens,” Federman told the Post. “And I think the story of Russ & Daughters and our world is really about family and connection – and something very close to the real world. We’re all hungry for it right now.
Joel Russ had no sons and so brought his three daughters – Hattie, Ida and Anne – as partners, adding them to the store name. Their husbands also joined the business later.
Federman and Tupper’s grandmother, Anne, “was the youngest of the three ‘Russ girls,'” Federman said.
The pair were approached by producer friend Kim Rozenfeld, a former head of nonfiction programming at Apple and now single.
“I’ve always been very intrigued by them and their business,” he told the Post. “And I approached them with the idea of developing the show as a drama, as a series.”
The next step, Rozenfeld said, is to find a writer, followed by a few months of development. Viewers could see the show on screen in “about a year”.
The deal was first reported by Deadline.
