Netflix to Adapt Judy Blume Novel Forever With Mara Brock Akil as EP

Judy Blume’s controversial young adult novel Forever will get the TV treatment from Netflix, which ordered the project to series on Thursday.

Described as a reimagination for a new generation — and not to be confused with ABC’s 2014 series or Prime Video’s 2018 series of the same name — Forever will tell the “epic love story of two Black teens exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts,” per the official logline. Blume’s novel, which was originally published in 1975, has frequently been challenged and banned in schools for its depictions of sex and birth control use.

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Girlfriends and The Game creator Mara Brock Akil will serve as showrunner and executive producer, marking her first Netflix project under an overall deal with the streamer.

“Judy Blume’s ability to capture the real emotions we experience during the various rites of passage of our youth influenced my life choices and writing voice,” Brock Akil said in a statement. “I’m honored to reimagine one of my favorite books, Forever. I am thrilled to have the opportunity of a lifetime to partner with a childhood icon and bring this story to my Netflix home, where the idea of your first love being with you Forever is shared with the world through the lens of Black love.”

Blume will also be an executive producer on the drama series, along with Susie Fitzgerald (Kevin Can F**k Himself) and Erika Harrison (Nancy Drew).

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