After the official trailer for Persuasion was released last week, another period drama has been announced for Netflix. According to Deadline, the streaming platform was awarded the rights to a limited series adaption of the groundbreaking novel East of Eden. Florence Pugh is set to both star and co-produce the project while Zoe Kazan, known for her role in Clickbait, is set to write and executive produce.
For viewers unfamiliar with East of Eden, the book was written by Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck and published in 1952. The storyline is set in California’s farmland of Salinas Valley and follows two families — the Trasks and the Hamiltons — “whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel,” according to the synopsis. Pugh and Kazan are now looking for a director to lead the series.
“I fell in love with East of Eden when I first read it, in my teens. Since then, adapting Steinbeck’s novel — the great, sprawling, three-generational entirety of it — has been my dream. More than anything, I have wanted to give full expression to the novel’s astonishing, singular antiheroine, Cathy Ames,” Kazan said in a statement. “Florence Pugh is our dream Cathy; I can’t imagine a more thrilling actor to bring this character to life. Writing this limited series over the last two years has been the creative highpoint of my life. I hope that with our partners at Netflix, Anonymous Content, and Endeavor Content, we can do justice to this material — and shed new light on it for a 21st century audience.”
The novel was previously adapted into a 1955 film of the same name starring James Dean.
The studio behind the forthcoming series is also known for fan favorite productions such as Severance and Nine Perfect Strangers as well as the new Apple TV+ series, Cha Cha Real Smooth. It will also follow Pugh’s highly-anticipated role in Olivia Wilde’s new film Don’t Worry Darling alongside Harry Styles.
Plenty to look forward to!
