Endeavor Content brings global broadcasters into Element Pictures / Lenny Abrahamson TV adaptation of Conversations with Friends
Date Posted: June 10, 2021
Endeavor Content, Element Pictures (The Favourite, Room, The Lobster), Lenny Abrahamson (Room, The Little Stranger, Frank) and bestselling author Sally Rooney’s series Conversations With Friends – the team’s second collaboration following the global phenomenon of Normal People – has presold to a host of leading global broadcasters and platforms. Endeavor Content, handling global distribution for the project, has secured deals with Amazon Prime Video (Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Africa), HBO Max EMEA (Spain, Portugal, Nordics, CEE, Netherlands, Baltics), SYN (Iceland) and Wavve (Korea). RTÉ will broadcast the series in Ireland.
Commissioned by BBC Three in the UK and Hulu in the US, the series stars emerging talent Alison Oliver, Sasha Lane (American Honey, The Miseducation Of Cameron Post), Joe Alwyn (The Favourite, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk) and Jemima Kirke (Sex Education, Girls). Academy Award nominee and Normal People director Lenny Abrahamson shares directorial duties with Leanne Welham (Pili, His Dark Materials). The series is co-financed by Northern Ireland Screen.
Producers Element Pictures said: “We are so thrilled to be re-uniting with our friends at Endeavor Content as they lead the charge in selling this show internationally. We loved working with them on Normal People and know we are in brilliant hands on Conversations With Friends.”
Director Lenny Abrahamson said: “Having had such a great experience working on Normal People, I’m so excited, along with our brilliant cast, crew and everyone at Element Pictures, to be bringing Sally’s wonderful first novel to the screen. I think, like our first collaboration with Sally, Conversations With Friends has a unique combination of the specific and local with a kind of universal appeal. I’m delighted that we are partnering once again with Endeavor Content to get the show to viewers all around the world.”
“Conversations With Friends is a highly anticipated series from some of the best creatives in the business, and following our collaboration on the sensation that is Normal People, we’re excited to be partnering with them once again to find the perfect homes for this series across the globe. With our deep-rooted market understanding and relationships – we’ve secured a group of leading platforms and broadcasters ideally positioned to bring this title to an international audience,” comments Prentiss Fraser, EVP Television Distribution at Endeavor Content.
Conversations with Friends follows Frances (Alison Oliver), a 21 year old college student, as she navigates a series of relationships that force her to confront her own vulnerabilities for the first time. Frances (Oliver) is observant, cerebral and sharp. Her ex-girlfriend, now best friend, Bobbi (Lane) is self-assured, outspoken and compelling. Though they broke up three years ago, Frances and Bobbi are virtually inseparable and perform spoken word poetry together in Dublin. It’s at one of their shows that they meet Melissa (Kirke), an older writer, who is fascinated by the pair. Bobbi and Frances start to spend time with Melissa and her husband, Nick (Alwyn), a handsome but reserved actor. While Melissa and Bobbi flirt with each other openly, Nick and Frances embark on an intense, secret affair that is surprising to them both. Soon the affair begins to test the bond between Frances and Bobbi, forcing Frances to reconsider her sense of self, and the friendship she holds so dear.
The 12×30 drama has been adapted from the debut novel by Sally Rooney. On board as executive producers are Ed Guiney (Normal People, The Favourite, Room, The Lobster), Emma Norton (Normal People, Rosie, The Souvenir: Part II) and Andrew Lowe (Normal People, The Favourite) for Element Pictures, Rose Garnett (Normal People, The Favourite, The Souvenir) and Tommy Bulfin (Normal People, Line of Duty, Peaky Blinders) for the BBC and Lenny Abrahamson. Catherine Magee (Normal People, Resistance, Rebellion) is series producer and Jeanie Igoe (Ramy, Miss Juneteenth, The Green Knight) is producer. Alice Birch (Normal People, Succession, Lady Macbeth), Mark O’Halloran (Rialto), Meadhbh McHugh (Asking For It) and Susan Soon He Stanton (Succession) have adapted the novel for TV.
Following Sally Rooney’s critically acclaimed debut novel Conversations With Friends, she was awarded 2017’s Sunday Times Writer of the Year Award. Her literary phenomenon of the following year, Normal People, was adapted for TV by Element Pictures, alongside Sally Rooney, Alice Birch and Mark O’Rowe and directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald. The Emmy and TCA-nominated, BAFTA and RTS-winning show starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal received huge critical acclaim following transmission, and global sales on the title are handled by Endeavor Content.
