‘Normal People’ Author Sally Rooney Sets ‘Conversations With Friends’ Series at Hulu
Click here to read the full article.
Another of “Normal People” author Sally Rooney’s books is set to get the series treatment at Hulu.
The streamer has given a straight-to-series order to “Conversations with Friends,” which will be based on Rooney’s debut novel of the same name.
More from Variety
'Normal People' Star Paul Mescal Jokes About Playing James Bond During Variety's Virtual TV Fest
Padma Lakshmi Remembers Her 'Favorite Dinner Guest' Joel Schumacher
The series will consist of 12 half-hour episodes. It follows two female Dublin college students forging an unexpected, strange and sexually charged relationship with an older married couple, which results in a complicated pair of love triangles that upends their lives.
The creative team behind “Normal People” will return for the new series. Lenny Abrahamson will be lead director alongside Alice Birch, who will serve as lead writer. Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, and Emma Norton of Element Pictures will executive produce. Rose Garnett and Tommy Bulfin will executive produce for the BBC. Rooney and Abrahamson will also serve as executive producers, with Catherine Magee as producer. “Conversations with Friends” is a Element Pictures production in association with BBC Three. Endeavor Content handled the US sale to Hulu and is handling all international sales.
“We loved working with Hulu on ‘Normal People’ – they are an inspiring and very talented team and all of us at Element are delighted to be partnering with them again, alongside our friends at the BBC, on the screen adaptation of Sally Rooney’s incredible first novel, ‘Conversations with Friends,’” Guiney said.
“Normal People” debuted in the U.K. on April 26 and in the U.S. on April 29. The series received critical acclaim upon its release, with it holding an 89% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Sally Rooney perfectly and beautifully captures the complicated dynamics of relationships in her stories,” said Beatrice Springborn, vice president of content at Hulu. “After bringing that to life in ‘Normal People’ to an overwhelmingly positive response, we are honored to do the same with ‘Conversations With Friends.’ We are excited to continue our creative partnership with Sally, Element Pictures, Lenny and the BBC, which has been a dream collaboration.”
Hulu has found success in recent years with literary adaptations. In addition to “Normal People,” the streamer also recently launched the limited series “Little Fires Everywhere” with Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon. Hulu’s flagship show is “The Handmaid’s Tale,” based on the book of the same name by Margaret Atwood.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
