Poets & Writers Theater

“It always feels to me…all the way through writing a project, that the characters are actually real people and my job is to do justice to them,” says Sally Rooney about writing and adapting the characters of her novel Normal People (Faber & Faber, 2018) to the screen for the BBC/Hulu television series in this Waterstones interview with director Lenny Abrahamson and actors Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal.

This new Netflix miniseries about a woman growing up in a strict Hasidic Judaism sect in Brooklyn who flees her arranged marriage and cuts ties with the community is loosely based on Deborah Feldman’s 2012 memoir, Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots. The four-episode series is directed by Maria Schrader and stars Shira Haas, Amit Rahav, and Jeff Wilbusch.

“I think Jane Austen, in general, writes about young people and young love very accurately,” says Leo Suter, who costars with Theo James and Rose Williams in the PBS Masterpiece adaptation of Jane Austen’s final unfinished novel, Sanditon, written and executive produced by Andrew Davies. Originally titled The Brothers, the manuscript was left unfinished in 1817 with only the first eleven chapters written, and has since been adapted and completed in various versions.

Agatha Christie’s 1961 novel The Pale Horse has been adapted into a two-part television series written by Sarah Phelps and directed by Leonora Lonsdale. Starring Georgina Campbell, Kaya Scodelario, and Rufus Sewell, the story begins with the murder of a priest soon after hearing a woman’s deathbed confession, and leads to an old pub inhabited by a mysterious trio of women, rumored to be witches.

Sally Rooney’s second novel, Normal People (Hogarth, 2019), has been adapted into a Hulu and BBC television miniseries directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald. The twelve-episode series stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal as two teenagers in Ireland from different backgrounds navigating friendship and romance through the years.

The Plot Against America (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2004), Philip Roth’s alternative history novel in which Charles Lindbergh wins the 1940 presidential election and fascist anti-Semitism is on the rise, has been adapted into an HBO television miniseries. The series, directed by Minkie Spiro and adapted by David Simon, stars Ben Cole, Winona Ryder, Morgan Spector, John Turturro, and Zoe Kazan.

Nick Hornby’s first novel, High Fidelity (Riverhead Books, 1995), whose 2000 film adaptation starred John Cusack and moved the story from London to Chicago, has been adapted into a Hulu television show. The series stars Zoë Kravitz as the neurotic owner of a local record store in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood who revisits former romantic partners after a recent breakup.

Little Fires Everywhere is a television adaptation of Celeste Ng’s 2017 novel of the same name about the tensions between two families in the Ohio suburbs during the 1990s. The eight-episode miniseries is directed by Lynn Shelton and stars Rosemarie DeWitt, Jordan Elsass, Joshua Jackson, Kerry Washington, and Reese Witherspoon.

Dracula is a new BBC/Netflix television adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic 1897 gothic horror novel. Created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, the three-episode miniseries stars Claes Bang in the title role, along with Morfydd Clark, John Heffernan, and Dolly Wells.

Charles Dickens’s classic 1843 holiday novella, A Christmas Carol, has been adapted into a new BBC television drama. The three-part fantasy miniseries is directed by Nick Murphy, and stars Joe Alwyn as Bob Cratchit, Jason Flemyng as the Ghost of Christmas Future, Stephen Graham as Jacob Marley, Guy Pearce as Ebenezer Scrooge, Charlotte Riley as Lottie (the Ghost of Christmas Present), and Andy Serkis as the Ghost of Christmas Past.

Dublin Murders is a BBC television adaptation of the first two novels in Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad mystery series, In the Woods (Viking, 2007) and The Likeness (Viking, 2008), which follows two detectives investigating homicides in contemporary Dublin. Adapted by Sarah Phelps, the eight-episode crime show stars Moe Dunford, Sarah Greene, Killian Scott, and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor.

Mrs. Fletcher (Scribner, 2017) by Tom Perrotta—whose novels Election, Little Children, and The Leftovers have previously inspired screen adaptations—has been adapted into an HBO television series. The comedy series stars Kathryn Hahn as Eve Fletcher, a divorcée who has a midlife sexual awakening after her son leaves home for college.

Looking for Alaska (Dutton Books, 2005), John Green’s debut young adult novel based on his own experiences at a boarding school, has been adapted into a television miniseries for Hulu. Created by Josh Schwartz, the teen drama stars Kristine Froseth, Charlie Plummer, Uriah Shelton, and Sofia Vassilieva.

George Clooney and Grant Heslov codirect and costar in this new six-episode television adaptation of Joseph Heller’s 1961 novel, Catch-22. With a screenplay by Luke Davies and David Michôd, the series stars Christopher Abbot as Yossarian, Kyle Chandler as Colonel Cathcart, and Hugh Laurie as Major de Coverley.

His Dark Materials is a television series adaptation of Philip Pullman’s award-winning fantasy adventure trilogy of the same name, comprising of the novels The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. Directed by Tom Hooper, the series stars Tyler Howitt, Dafne Keen, James McAvoy, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Ruth Wilson, and follows the coming-of-age story of two children discovering their identities and destinies while journeying through parallel universes.

Tom Shankland has directed a new television series adaptation of Les Misérables, Victor Hugo’s classic 1862 historical fiction novel, for Masterpiece on PBS. The cast of characters includes a young working woman Fantine, her daughter Cosette, and police inspector Javert, who chases after fugitive Jean Valjean. Ellie Bamber, Lilly Collins, David Oyelowo, and Dominic West star in the lead roles.

The Little Drummer Girl (Knopf, 1983), John le Carré’s spy thriller novel about a young English actress who works as a double agent for an Israeli intelligence agency in the 1970s, has been adapted into a television miniseries. The six-part series is directed by Park Chan-wook, and stars Florence Pugh, Michael Shannon, and Alexander Skarsgård.

William Shakespeare’s tragic play King Lear has been adapted into a made-for-television film set in a highly militarized version of present-day London. Directed by Richard Eyre, the film stars Anthony Hopkins as the titular character, and Florence Pugh, Emma Thompson, and Emily Watson as his three daughters.

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (Workman Publishing, 1990), Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s collaborative comedic fantasy novel about an angel and a demon attempting to prevent Armageddon, has been adapted into a television show. The six-part miniseries is directed by Douglas Mackinnon, and stars Sam Taylor Buck, Ilan Galkoff, Michael Sheen, and David Tennant. 

A Discovery of Witches (Viking, 2011), the first novel in Deborah Harkness’s All Souls historical fantasy trilogy, has been adapted into a television miniseries. The eight-part series stars Edward Bluemel, Gregg Chillin, Matthew Goode, Teresa Palmer, and follows the story of a history scholar witch, a geneticist vampire, and a long-lost alchemical manuscript.