Hulu Boards Normal People

Hulu is going straight to series with Normal People, adapted from Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel from Element Pictures, in association with BBC Three.

Normal People tracks the relationship of Marianne and Connell from the end of their school days in a small town in the west of Ireland to their undergraduate years at Trinity College. The series stars Daisy Edgar-Jones (War of the Worlds, Cold Feet) as Marianne and Paul Mescal, in his first television role, as Connell.

At school, Connell’s well-liked and popular, while Marianne’s lonely, proud and intimidating. But when Connell comes to pick up his mother from her cleaning job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers, one they are determined to conceal. A year later, they’re both studying in Dublin and Marianne has found her feet in a new social world, but Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain.

Rooney is working alongside writers Alice Birch and Mark O’Rowe to adapt the book as a 12-episode, half-hour drama. Lenny Abrahamson (Room, The Little Stranger, Frank) and Hettie McDonald will direct the series, with Abrahamson directing the first six and McDonald directing the final six.

Rooney said: “As a longtime admirer of Lenny Abrahamson’s work, it’s a special privilege for me to be working alongside him on the adaptation of Normal People. I couldn’t be happier with the cast and team we’ve put together, and I’m very excited to watch them bringing new life to the story on screen.”

Beatrice Springborn, Hulu’s VP of content development, said: “From the moment we read Normal People we were smitten. This anatomy of a will-they-or-won’t-they romance perfectly and uniquely captures the highs and lows of young true love. With our incredible partners Lenny, Sally, Alice, Mark, Element and the BBC Three, we can’t wait to bring the beloved novel to life and share the series with the world.”