Hulu joins BBC’s ‘Conversations With Friends’ from ‘Normal People’ author Sally Rooney

Normal People

Disney-owned streamer Hulu has doubled-down on author Sally Rooney and joined the BBC’s adaptation of her book Conversations With Friends, following the runaway success of their recent collaboration on Normal People.

The 12 x 30-minute series will be led by the same creative team as Normal People, with Lenny Abrahamson returning to direct alongside writer Alice Birch.

It will be produced by Irish outfit Element Pictures, in association with the UK’s BBC Three, which announced it was commissioning the adaptation in February. Endeavor Content arranged the deal and is handling all international sales.

Based upon Rooney’s 2017 debut novel, Conversations With Friends follows two Dublin college girls who embark on an unusual sexual relationship with an older married couple, resulting in some life-changing complications.

Romantic drama Normal People was a hit for the BBC earlier this year and landed on Hulu in April, where it was also met with critical praise. The show was exported around the globe in a slew of deals last month. Its stars, Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, are set to reunite for two follow-up shorts, set 40 years later, as part of upcoming Irish TV special RTÉ Does Comic Relief.

“Sally Rooney perfectly and beautifully captures the complicated dynamics of relationships in her stories,” said Beatrice Springborn, VP of content at Hulu. “After bringing that to life in Normal People to an overwhelmingly positive response, we are honoured to do the same with Conversations With Friends. We are excited to continue our creative partnership with Sally, Element Pictures, Lenny and the BBC, which has been a dream collaboration.”