Henry James’s Portrait of a Lady Set for TV Adaptation

LONDON: Number 9 Films, which is behind the Oscar-nominated movie Carol, is teaming up with RED Production Company for its first-ever TV project, an adaptation of Henry James’s 1881 novel The Portrait of a Lady.

Portrait of a Lady is a drama that features an unconventional romance and a coming-of-age tale in the ‘Americans in Europe’ genre. The story follows Isabel Archer, a New World ingénue who leaves America for Old World Europe. She inherits an unexpected fortune and falls prey to two American ex-pat schemers, getting lured into a marriage with unfortunate consequences.

Elizabeth Karlsen (Carol, Youth) and Stephen Woolley (Carol, Youth) of Number 9 Films will executive produce alongside Nicola Shindler (The Five, Happy Valley) of RED Production Company. STUDIOCANAL will handle worldwide distribution.

Elizabeth Karlsen, co-founder and executive producer at Number 9 Films, said: “We have long been admirers of Nicola’s groundbreaking work in television. She has built an extraordinary company and creative team that we feel privileged to be collaborating with on our first outing into television. We believe we share a sensibility with Nicola of being drawn towards material with complex and compelling female lead characters, which is one of the defining elements of Portrait of a Lady.”

Shindler, founder and executive producer at RED Production Company, said: “Elizabeth and Stephen have produced some of the most acclaimed and engaging feature films of recent years and I am delighted to be working with them on their first television project. Having been originally published as a monthly serial, and addressing themes of personal freedom, betrayal and modernization, Henry James’s Portrait of a Lady lends itself perfectly to the long-form storytelling that only TV can offer.”