HBO lands rights to the Fort Bragg Cartel book for series adaptation

The newest book by Seth Harp, Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces, is set to be adapted into a show on HBO. This book has already gained considerable fame among readers of both fiction and non-fiction for its gripping storyline, which depicts the dark side of drug trafficking and special forces.

Fort Bragg Cartel is set for a screen adaptation

Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces, a book written by the investigative journalist and foreign correspondent Seth Harp, focuses on the story of the unsolved murder cases that are related to drug trafficking. In an interview with the Fellows program, Seth Harp spoke about what inspired him to write his book:

“In December 2020, I learned that two special operations soldiers had been found murdered at a remote training range on Fort Bragg, and that police did not have a suspect. That in itself was worth investigating. But then I learned that one of the victims was an active-duty operator on Delta Force, the most elite unit in the U.S. military, and was suspected of dealing drugs on base. At that point I knew there had to be more to the story—a lot more.”

This new HBO series, adapted from the book, is being developed in collaboration with Seth Harp and former HBO Films president Len Amato. Both will serve as executive producers for the series.

The bidding war for the series was not an easy one. Multiple outlets wanted a piece of the book. However, HBO came out victorious in the end.

Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces was published on August 12, 2025. The book is already set to make its debut on the New York Times bestseller list. In the interview, Harp also spoke about the challenges he faced while writing the book:

“Concerns about sensationalizing crimes and exploiting participants never entered into my thinking because I was scrambling to keep up with real events that were unfolding in real time. If anything, I was too hesitant in the beginning to publicize some of the most sensational allegations that I heard from my sources, including the existence of a cartel-like structure on Fort Bragg made up of Special Forces soldiers who were trafficking drugs from abroad into the United States. I later came to find out that such claims were no exaggeration at all.”

HBO is the home for many successful book adaptations. The production house knows how to create realistic and authentic depictions of the storylines. Hence, fans of the book are genuinely excited about the screen adaptation.

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