Sasha Lane, Jemima Kirke cast in Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends

If you’re still reeling from the news that a new Sally Rooney novel is coming in September, you may want to sit down: the cast of the TV adaptation of her 2017 debut, Conversations with Friends, has finally been announced.

Dazed cover star and The Miseducation of Cameron Post actor Sasha Lane is set to play Bobbi, the confident best friend and ex-girlfriend of the book’s narrator Frances, who’ll be portrayed by newcomer Alison Oliver. Girls’ Jemima Kirke joins the cast as journalist Melissa, while Joe Alwyn (Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, FYI) is set to play her husband Nick.

Conversations with Friends follows the turbulent relationships of Frances and Bobbi, two Dublin students who get involved with a married couple.

The 12-part series was confirmed last summer, following the breakout success of the TV adaptation of Rooney’s second novel, Normal People, which premiered in April last year. Like Normal People, the series will be helmed by Irish director Lenny Abrahamson, with Alice Birch returning as lead writer.

In a statement, Abrahamson said he was excited to be “collaborating with four such superb actors”. 

Piers Wenger, the director of BBC drama, added: “Lenny’s deep affinity for Sally’s writing and talent for finding actors to bring her fictional creations to life played a huge part in bringing Normal People so successfully to screen. In casting Alison, Sasha, Joe, and Jemima, that same flair and instinct is in evidence, and we can’t wait to see how they will bring Frances, Bobbi, Nick, and Melissa to life.”

Filming will take place this year in Dublin, Belfast, and international locations yet to be confirmed. It will premiere on BBC Three, BBC One, and US streaming service Hulu next year. While you wait, look back at Dazed’s interview with Normal People’s Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones here.