Hulu to Adapt Sally Rooney’s ‘Normal People’, Reveals Lead Stars

Hulu has given a series order to Normal People, an adaptation of Sally Rooney’s beloved novel by the same name.

Receiving a 12-episode order, the 30-minute drama follows the complicated relationship between Marianne and Connell from their earlier years at the end of their school days in a small town west of Ireland to their years at Trinity College in Dublin. The pair go through their ups and downs with Connell being relatively popular at school, while Marianne is proud and lonely.

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They connect when Connell comes to Marianne’s house to pick up his mother, who was doing a cleaning job there, and their relationship grows. When they enter college, there’s a slight reversal of roles, as Marianne has found success socially while Connell’s approach is shy.

The production is in association with BBC Three and Element Pictures and will see Lenny Abrahamson (director of Room) and Hettie McDonald (Howard’s End) split directing duties with six episodes each. “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,” said Sally 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.”

Sally Rooney (Credit: Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal (both above) have been cast as Marianne and Connell in the series, which goes into production next week in Dublin. Normal People is set to arrive on Hulu in 2020 but no specific date was mentioned.

“From the moment we read Normal People we were smitten. This anatomy of a will-they-or-won’t-they romance perfectly and uniquely captures the highs and lows of young true love,” said Beatrice Springborn, Hulu’s VP of Content Development. “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.”