The adaptation of Sally Rooney’s stellar second novel Normal People is just around the corner, but the BBC is determined to up the anticipation, today announcing that the Irish writer’s debut is also being turned into a TV series.
The broadcaster has commissioned a 12-part series based on Conversations with Friends, which will follow the turbulent relationships between Frances, Bobbi, Melissa, and Nick.
Normal People is set to air in April, with many of those who worked on the series also lending their expertise to Conversations with Friends. Rooney will remain involved, along with director Lenny Abrahamson, and screenwriter Alice Birch.
In a press release, Rooney said: “I’m confident we’re going to find fresh and interesting ways of dramatising the novel’s dynamics, and I’m excited to watch the process take shape.” Piers Wenger, BBC Drama’s controller, added: “We are all addicted to Sally Rooney’s writing and will plunder her literary canon as long as she is writing. And so, on the back of the taut and tangled Normal People, we are delighted that Sally has entrusted us with her debut novel, Conversations with Friends.”
Explaining why the BBC decided to film the books in reverse order, Wenger said: “Conversations with Friends was in development elsewhere. Sally had seen how well Normal People had played out as 12 half-hour (episodes) because it allowed you to get inside the minds and lives of the characters. Normal People is a different piece with a different tone and a different set of characters.”
Normal People tells the story of Marianne and Connell’s relationship as they leave school and head to university in Dublin. The lead characters are played by newcomers Daisy Edgar Jones and Paul Mescal.
There’s no news yet on who will star in Conversations with Friends or when the BBC will begin production. In the meantime, watch the trailer for Normal People below.