Laura Dern & Margaret Qualley Star In ‘Forever, Interrupted’ Limited Series In Works At Netflix From A24

Nellie Andreeva
·3 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation, Netflix has landed for development Forever, Interrupted, a limited series based on the 2013 bestselling novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, sources tell Deadline. Laura Dern and Margaret Qualley are set to star in and executive produce the project, from A24 and company-based producer Jessica Rhoades. Julia Bicknell is writing the adaptation and will serve as showrunner. Netflix declined comment.

In Forever, Interrupted, Elsie (Qualley) and Ben’s whirlwind romance is electric – within months they’re married and living happily ever after – when Ben’s unexpected death forces Elsie to come face to face with Susan (Dern), the mother-in-law who doesn’t know that she exists. Told through a dual timeline, the series recounts Elsie and Ben’s once-in-a-lifetime love, intercut with Elsie and Susan’s unexpected journey as their at first turbulent connection ultimately brings both women cathartic new beginnings.

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Executive producing are Rhoades and Alison Mo Massey for Pacesetter Productions, which has a first-look deal with A24; Reid, Brad Mendelsohn for Circle of Confusion; Dern and Jayme Lemons for Jaywalker Pictures; as well as Qualley and Brett Hedblom for I Understand Pictures. A24 is the studio.

The project was taken out about a month ago. In a tough marketplace, it generated interest from multiple buyers, ultimately landing at Netflix.

Forever, Interrupted would fit right in at the streamer, which has had success with limited series about love and loss such as From Scratch and One Day, whose newlywed protagonist Emma’s death mirrors Ben’s.

This also marks a return to Netflix for all main auspices. Qualley headlined the streamer’s hit limited series Maid in her first TV starring role, earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Dern voiced the female lead in animated comedy F Is For Family. Bicknell started her TV writing career at Netflix, working on 13 Reasons Why, The Haunting Of Bly Manor and The Midnight Club. Rhoades serves as an executive producer on Black Mirror from a previous first-look deal at the streamer. And A24 is behind another limited series, which became Netflix’s biggest TV awards juggernaut this past season, Beef.

Qualley also is in business with A24 on the feature side, having recently joined revenge thriller Huntington opposite Glen Powell. Two-time Emmy nominee for Maid and FX’s Fosse/Verdon, Qualley has two movies at Cannes, Kinds of Kindness, which premiered today, and The Substance. She is repped by CAA and Sloane Offer Weber & Dern.

Dern, an Oscar winner for Marriage Story and an Emmy winner for Big Little Lies, is an executive producer and cast member of Apple TV+’s Palm Royale, a series she and Lemons had developed. Her recent feature credits include Jurassic World Dominion, reprising her role as Ellie, and The Son. She is repped by CAA, Untitled Entertainment and Latham & Watkins.

Bicknell, who has been a writer-producer on Showtime’s Yellowjackets, sharing in its Drama Series Emmy nomination, is repped by 3 Arts Entertainment, Ziffren Brittenham and UTA.

Rhoades and A24 just landed for development Elle Kennedy’s book Girl Abroad in a competitive auction, with Bridgerton creator Chris Van Dusen set to adapt. Rhoades’ executive producing credits also include Max limited series Station Eleven and HBO’s Sharp Objects. She is repped by UTA and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.

Jenkins Reid is repped by WME, Circle of Confusion and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.

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