Shuggie Bain Gets BBC, A24 Adaptation

BBC has ordered a series adaptation of Douglas Stuart’s 2020 Booker Prize-winning debut novel Shuggie Bain, to be produced by A24.

Inspired by Stuart’s own childhood in Scotland during the Thatcher years, the book tells the story of a working-class family whose matriarch finds solace in drinking. Shuggie, an effeminate boy who struggles to fit in, cares for his mother as she battles with alcoholism while he tries to become the “normal” boy he longs to be.

Stuart is adapting his novel for BBC One and iPlayer. The series will be executive produced by A24 and Gaynor Holmes for the BBC.

“I am deeply grateful to the BBC and A24 for their belief in Shuggie Bain,” Stuart said. “I’m thrilled to bring the Bain family to the screen and the opportunity to expand on my novel and to bring new threads to the story, exploring hardships and struggles as well as the compassion, humor and resilience that is so central to the Scottish spirit.”

Holmes, commissioning editor for BBC Drama, added, “Shuggie Bain is an extraordinary novel, with all the makings of extraordinary television. It’s a real honor to be working with the immensely talented Douglas Stuart to bring his vision to the BBC.”