Deadline reports that Little Women co-stars Florence Pugh and Zoe Kazan are teaming up once again for East of Eden, a limited series based on John Steinbeck’s novel from Netflix, Anonymous Content and Endeavor Content.
East of Eden will “explore the novel’s themes of trauma and repair; love and betrayal; duty and free will. The series will sketch an intimate portrait of the Trask family against the backdrop of huge historical forces — or, as Steinbeck put it, “the story of my country and the story of me.””
Pugh will star as Cathy Ames, a young woman who seeks to climb the social ladder no matter the means she uses to get there. Kazan will write and executive produce the series.
“I fell in love with East of Eden when I first read it, in my teens. Since then, adapting Steinbeck’s novel — the great, sprawling, three-generational entirety of it — has been my dream,” Kazan said. “More than anything, I have wanted to give full expression to the novel’s astonishing, singular antiheroine, Cathy Ames. Florence Pugh is our dream Cathy; I can’t imagine a more thrilling actor to bring this character to life. Writing this limited series over the last two years has been the creative highpoint of my life. I hope that with our partners at Netflix, Anonymous Content, and Endeavor Content, we can do justice to this material — and shed new light on it for a 21st century audience.”
Interestingly, this is not the first time a Kazan has adapted East of Eden as Zoe Kazan’s grandfather Elia Kazan directed the 1955 film adaptation for Warner Bros. which helped launch the legendary James Dean’s career.
Kazan previously wrote Ruby Sparks and Wildfire. She, Netflix, Anonymous and Endevor will begin searching for a director and casting for the Trask family.
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