Former U-S President Bill Clinton and iconic author James Patterson have had their yet-to-be-published thriller “The President Is Missing” picked up to be developed by Showtime.

The cable and satellite network won a bidding war that was said to have included Hollywood heavyweights such as Steven Speilberg, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer.

Showtime says it plans to adapt the novel into a series.

While past U-S presidents have authored non-fiction books, many about history, none has ever published a thriller.

The Clinton – Patterson collaboration tells the story of a president who has gone missing, and Clinton was able to provide details that only someone who has held the office could.