In case you didn’t know J.K. Rowling wrote some fairly successful children’s books that went on to become an even more successful film franchise. The Harry Potter series grossed approximately $7.7 billion worldwide at the box office sprouting a theme park, various spin-off books and a recently announced spin-off trilogy of movies. So yeah, J.K. Rowling is kind of a big deal. Well now she’s turning her eyes to the small screen. THR are reporting that the author is teaming up with HBO and BBC in a collaboration to bring her post-Potter work to TV.
The Casual Vacancy is a crime novel set in a quiet English village divided by political endeavours and social class status. It was her first published material since Harry Potter and despite becoming a bestseller it received a mix bag of reviews. Many saw it as breathtakingly fresh and original, others saw it as a blatant attempt to separate her name from the stigma of being viewed as just an author of kids books.
The mini-series will reportedly be three one hour episodes and will begin production sometime in the summer. Rowling will act as executive producer with various other BBC alumni co-producing including Rick Senat, Paul Trijbits and Ruth Kenley-Letts (The Hour). Jonny Campbell (Eric & Ernie) will direct the mini-series but no actors have yet been linked with any roles. EastEnders scribe Sarah Phelps will write the script. The rights to the book was originally bought by BBC over a year ago but HBO have wormed their way and if their recent shows are anything to go by, this could prove to be a great acquisition.
Gavin Logan – Follow me on Twitter
Originally published April 24, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
