Hulu has today given a series order to the original half-hour drama series Normal People based on the novel by Sally Rooney. Production on the 12-episode season will begin next week in Dublin for a 2020 premiere.
The drama tracks the tender but complicated relationship of Marianne and Connell from the end of their school days in a small-town west of Ireland to their undergraduate years at Trinity College. At school, he's well-liked and popular, while she'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.
Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal will star in the drama.
Rooney is adapting her novel with Alice Birch and Mark O'Rowe. Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie McDonald will each direct six episodes of the drama's first season. They will all executive produce with Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Emma Norton and Anna Ferguson. Endeavor Content and Element Pictures produces in association with Hulu and BBC Three.
"From the moment we read Normal People, we were smitten," said Beatrice Springborn, Vice President of Content Development, Hulu. "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."
"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," added Rooney. "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."
