HBO 'Fielding' new drama project

Exclusive: HBO is playing ball with "The Art of Fielding." Drama series in development is based on the novel by Chad Harbach. The book is a tale of bucolic Americana set against the backdrop of a fictional Midwestern university that follows the fate of five people upended by an errant baseball throw.No writer is attached to the pilot yet. Scott Rudin will exec produce and Harbach will serve as consulting producer.Pay cabler, which renewed "True Blood" for a fifth season Thursday, has been busy on the development front lately. Net is teaming with author Tom Perrotta to adapt his novel "The Leftovers" to a series (Variety, Aug. 10).Hourlong drama explores the Rapture and how the sudden disappearance of loved ones in a suburban town affects everyone left behind. Perrotta, who is writing the pilot and is the author of "Election" and "Little Children," will exec produce with Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger. Rudin is also currently exec producing HBO's drama pilot "More as This Story Develops," about the behind-the-scenes goings-on at a cable news network. Jeff Daniels is starring in the Aaron Sorkin-scripted pilot with Alison Pill, Sam Waterston, Dev Patel and Emily Mortimer. Contact Stuart Levine at stuart.levine@variety.com