Stud, Half Shell’s initial project, began when partner James DeJulio had the idea to develop a dramatic television series set in the world of thoroughbred horse breeding. Half Shell optioned the book, Stud: Adventures in Breeding by Kevin Conley, a work of non-fiction that provided an excellent look into the world of breeding, including storylines and topics, and with Conley’s cooperation, access to many of this world’s characters and personalities. We then hired James Manos Jr., who won an Emmy for his writing on The Soprano’s and most recently received “created-by” and executive producer credit on Showtime’s hit Dexter to write an original pilot episode.

The project is currently in turnaround from HBO.