Where Normal People leads, Conversations With Friends will follow. Hulu confirmed today that it will air the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s debut novel, after premiering Normal People to critical acclaim and socially-distanced fan fervor in April. The 12-part series will debut on BBC Three in the U.K. before heading to Hulu.
Like the story of Marianne and Connell, Conversations with Friends follows a set of angsty Irish millennials who are drawn into complicated romantic and class dynamics. Based on its sensual source material and fact that most of the creative team from Normal People is returning, consider this your next steamy must-watch. “I’m confident we’re going to find fresh and interesting ways of dramatizing the novel’s dynamics, and I’m excited to watch the process take shape,” Rooney said in a statement when BBC announced the adaptation in February.
Ahead, everything we know about the show—and Twitter’s thoughts on casting.
The series will be based on Rooney’s 2017 novel.
Rooney has become an author-to-watch thanks to the breakout success of her first two novels detailing the coming-of-age experience. Her first book, Conversations, follows Dublin university students Frances and Bobbi—best friends and former lovers who perform poetry together. Their tight-knit dynamic is threatened by the bond they forge with an older married couple—journalist Melissa and actor Nick.
Frances and Nick’s relationship secretly becomes romantic. Bobbi finds herself defending Melissa and distancing herself from Frances. And both friends take sides in the other couple’s marriage, to the detriment of their own relationship. There’s themes of class differences, political philosophy, and sexuality, as well as more spoken word poetry than you bargained for.
Hulu is adapting the book with the same creative team as Normal People.
If you found yourself addicted to the Normal People series, you’re in luck. Several of the directors, producers, and writers from that project are returning to adapt Conversations. Oscar-nominated director Lenny Abrahamson (Room) will return to helm several episodes, as well as writer Alice Birch, executive producer Ed Guiney, and Rooney herself as a writer/producer.
“Sally Rooney perfectly and beautifully captures the complicated dynamics of relationships in her stories,” the Hulu vice president of content, Beatrice Springborn, said in a statement. “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.”
“I love Conversations With Friends, its depth, humour and freshness, and it’s an honour to be involved in bringing it to the screen,” Abrahamson said in a statement via BBC. “I’m particularly happy that my connection to Sally and her work is set to continue. Making Normal People has been a singular pleasure and I’m excited to be working with the same brilliant team again on Conversations With Friends.”
Executive producer Ed Guiney added, “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.”
However, with most of the Normal People team turning their attention to a new project, means season 2 of the hit romantic drama is likely on hold. During an interview with Hello! magazine, Guiney confirmed, “[Conversations With Friends is] what we’ll be turning our attention to next. But maybe down the line we’ll come back to Connell and Marianne.” In a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said the new adaptation will be “a cousin of Normal People in a way, but it’s also quite different.”
No casting decisions have publicly been announced.
Taylor Swift, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Emily Ratajkowski are among those who have praised Conversations with Friends on social media. But at this time, no celebrities have been attached to the series. But that hasn’t stopped Twitter from submitting its casting suggestions for the four leading roles. Saoirse Ronan is by far the most popular choice for the role of Frances, while Florence Pugh has been suggested for Bobbi. Catastrophe‘s Sharon Horgan and Fleabag‘s Phoebe Waller-Bridge have been floated as possible Melissa’s. And everyone from Armie Hammer to Andrew Scott to Tom Hiddleston have been chosen for Nick. Below, a roundup of Twitter’s ideas.
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No official premiere date has been set.
COVID-19 has delayed nearly every major film and TV production, likely impacting Conversations with Friends in the process. No release date or filming schedule has been confirmed. But the earliest release date for the series would be somewhere in late 2021. Until then, catch up with the novel and binge-watch Normal People to get your Sally Rooney fix.
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