Made Up Stories Options Darling Girls

Made Up Stories has optioned Sally Hepworth’s thriller novel Darling Girls for a television adaptation.

Darling Girls sees three sisters return to the idyllic farming estate where they were raised by a loving foster mother when a body is discovered under the house. They were always told how lucky they were to be given an elusive second chance of a happy family life with their foster family, but when they are forced to return home, it becomes clear their childhood wasn’t the fairy tale everyone thought it was.

The story is being adapted for television by Irish screenwriter and producer Orlagh Collins, who will also serve as executive producer and showrunner. Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Katie Amos will produce the series. Hepworth and Rob Weisbach will executive produce.

“We love making compelling thrillers at Made Up Stories with complex women at the center,” representatives from Made Up Stories said. “Sally’s brilliant book has four of them and, paired with Orlagh Collins’ adaptation, we’ve been left breathless.”

Hepworth commented, “I’m thrilled to be working with Bruna, Steve and Made Up Stories to adapt Darling Girls for series. I’ve long admired their dynamic filmmaking and their passion for telling women’s stories, so I feel unbelievably lucky to partner with them to bring this particular story to life—one that examines three uniquely complex women at the center of a murder investigation and the team of detectives who grossly underestimate their unbreakable bond of sisterhood.”