Hulu Orders New Series: NORMAL PEOPLE

This morning Hulu announced the straight to series order on Normal People based on Sally Rooney's best-selling novel.

· Hulu announces straight to series order on Normal People, a 12-episode, half-hour drama, adapted from Sally Rooney's NY Times best-selling novel from Element Pictures, in association with BBC Three.

· Normal People tracks the tender but complicated relationship of Marianne and Connell from the end of their school days in small-town west of Ireland to their undergraduate years at Trinity College. At school, he's well-liked and popular, while she's lonely, proud and intimidating. But when Connell comes to pick up his mother from her cleaning job at Marianne's house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers - one they are determined to conceal. A year later, they're both studying in Dublin and Marianne has found her feet in a new social world but Connell hangs at the side lines, shy and uncertain.

· "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. 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," said Sally Rooney

· "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. 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," said Beatrice Springborn Hulu's VP, Content Development.

· The series stars Daisy Edgar-Jones (War of the Worlds, Cold Feet) as Marianne, and Paul Mescal, in his first television role, as Connell.

· Lenny Abrahamson (ROOM, THE LITTLE STRANGER, FRANK) and Hettie McDonald will direct the series, with Abrahamson directing the first six and McDonald directing the final six.

· Adapted by Sally Rooney alongside writers Alice Birch and Mark O'Rowe, Normal People is a 12-episode 30-minute drama series. Normal People is an Element Pictures production (THE FAVOURITE, THE LOBSTER, Dublin Murders) for Hulu and BBC Three. The series is executive produced by Ed Guiney (THE FAVOURITE, THE LOBSTER, Dublin Murders), Andrew Lowe (THE FAVOURITE, ROOM, THE LOBSTER), Emma Norton (ROSIE, A DATE FOR MAD MARY), and Anna Ferguson (No Offense, Prisoners' Wives) for Element Pictures. Sally Rooney and Lenny Abrahamson will also serve as executive producers. Endeavour Content will serve as the international distributor.

· Following Rooney's critically acclaimed debut novel Conversations with Friends, Normal People, released in the US on April 16, 2019, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2018 and recently won 2019's Book of the Year at the British Book Awards.

· The series goes into production next week in Dublin, and will premiere in 2020.

· Normal People hails from Sally Rooney, considered to be a defining voice of her generation. Published only a month ago in the U.S., Normal People has quickly entered the zeitgeist. The project further elevates Hulu's mission of telling highly original, relevant stories that take on cultural conversations in a fresh and unexpected way, alongside The Act, The Handmaid's Tale, Fyre Fraud and Little Fires Everywhere.