So, can the words of J.K. Rowling make the same waves on the small screen, that they did on the big screen? We'll soon see as the 'Harry Potter' author's book, "The Casual Vacancy," is heading to the BBC.
The author's first book for grownups hit store shelves in September where it did big business, but critics weren't as kind. The book received very mixed reviews, and certainly, it hasn't quite swept the world like the 'Potter' books, but that being said, it's not a big splashy fantasy, but instead a look at the small town and the variety of relationships that are fraying and boiling beneath its surface. Here's the official Amazon book synopsis:
When Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…. Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town’s council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations? Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.
The plan right now is to develop show for a TV series with a tentative plan to air in 2014. No word yet on writers, stars or directors, but we'll likely hear more in the New Year. But it seems Rowling isn't done yet in bringing her stories from the page to the screen. [BBC One/Deadline]