The BBC has announced casting details for the much anticipated adaptation of Sally Rooney's Conversations With Friends - and it's a mix of unknowns and well-established stars.
With Normal People such a big hit with its candid depiction of young, complicated love, this latest adaptation of Rooney's debut novel from 2017 is sure to be huge.
Lenny Abrahamson, who is returning to direct Conversations with Friends, addressed the possibility of Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal making cameos as Marianne and Connell, and has confirmed that filming will begin in April.
Conversations with Friends: Who’s in it?
Newcomer Alison Oliver, from Lir Academy (whose graduates include Normal People’s Paul Mescal) will make her screen debut as Frances, Sasha Lane (American Honey, The Miseducation of Cameron Post) will star as Bobbi, Joe Alwyn (The Favourite, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk) as Nick and Jemima Kirke (Sex Education, Girls) as Melissa.
Oscar-winning director Lenny Abrahamson also addressed the possibility of Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal making cameos as Normal People's Marianne and Connell respectively.
"Yes, that’s perfect [Marianne could appear in the background]! And Connell could be some moping boy in the background, licking his pencil. Now we're talking, that’s gold!" Abrahamson told Radio Times.
Conversations With Friends: Who are the team behind it?
Normal People series co-producer Ed Guiney was asked in a recent interview whether a second season could be on the horizon, when he revealed: "Not in the short term. We've turned our attention – we're adapting Conversations With Friends as a television series."
The next adaptation will likely have a similar feel to Normal People, given the core team is remaining the same.
"It's the same basic team... Lenny's [Abrahamson] going to direct it and is across it as an EP [executive producer]. And Alice Birch and all of us at Element [Pictures]. So, in a way, that's what we'll be turning our attention to next," Guiney said.
For those who are desperate to know what becomes of Connell and Marianne after Normal People's ambiguous ending, all's not lost.
"But maybe down the line we'll come back to Connell and Marianne," Guiney added.
Conversations With Friends: What is it about?
Twenty-one year old Frances, is a student in Dublin who's an aspiring writer and spoken word poetry performer, alongside her best friend and former girlfriend, Bobbi.
The pair are interviewed and then befriended by Melissa, a well-known journalist who is married to Nick, an actor, and Frances and Bobbi enter a world of beautiful houses, raucous dinner parties and holidays in Provence.
When Frances and Nick get unexpectedly closer, the emotion-averse Frances is forced to honestly confront her own vulnerabilities for the first time.
Conversations with Friends: When will it air?
Director Lenny Abrahamson recently revealed that filming on the series would begin in five weeks, and that fans can expect it a similar feel and atmosphere to Normal People, which he also directed.
"We start filming in five weeks and I’m not sure when it’s due to air," he told Radio Times. "But we’ve described it as a kind of cousin to Normal People. It's still within that sort of… you can feel Sally’s writing obviously, and there are similarities in how I’ll approach this, although there are also differences. It's also 12 half-hour episodes [like Normal People], so there is some kind of continuity."
Watch Normal People on BBC iPlayer HERE.
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