Sarah Phelps will pen the adaptation of the novel set in a seemingly idyllic English village where a war among various factions breaks out after the death of a Parish Councillor.
- Apr 24, 2014
AceShowbiz - J.K. Rowling's "The Casual Vacancy" will be brought onto the small screen. The first book for adult readership from the "Harry Potter" author, the novel will be adapted into a three-hour miniseries on HBO and BBC.
The story centers on Pagford, a seemingly idyllic English village whose history and quaintness are balanced only by its citizens' duplicitous nature. After the death of Parish Councillor Barry Fairbrother, a war breaks out before the election for his successor takes place. Those running for a place soon find their darkest secrets revealed on the Parish Council online forum, ruining their campaign and leaving the election in turmoil.
Rowling will serve as executive producer along with Neil Blair, Paul Trijbits and Rick Senat. Sarah Phelps will write the miniseries with Jonny Campbell on board to direct. Production will begin this summer, but no cast member is announced yet.
BBC first announced that it greenlit the project in late 2012, before HBO got involved in it.
In other news, HBO has struck a multi-year deal with Amazon which will give the e-commerce company exclusive rights to offer past seasons of the network's original shows to its customers.
Under the agreement, such series as "The Sopranos" and "The Wire" as well as early seasons of "Boardwalk Empire" and "True Blood" will become available online via Amazon Prime as soon as May 21. Meanwhile, current sseasons of more recent shows like "Girls", "The Newsroom" and "Veep" will come to Amazon approximately three years after airing on HBO. These shows will still be available on all HBO platforms, including HBO Go.
