Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon are set to star in an upcoming adaptation of Little Fires Everywhere, which will be adapted as a limited series.
Celeste Ng wrote the best-selling book.
The project is from Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, Washington’s Simpson Street and ABC Signature Studios. They both are among the series’ producers.
According to THR, “A parade of network execs took meetings Wednesday at Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine offices this week in a bid to land the series. (It) ignited a bidding war among those who have heard the pitch. Sources note that several outlets attempted to take the package off the table but Witherspoon and those involved insisted on letting everyone hear the pitch as they mull the right home for the series. In a rare move, network execs went to the Hello Sunshine offices rather than producers hopping from network to network.”
Here’s the official description of the book: In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules. Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community. When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town–and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.
Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood – and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.
Both Washington and Witherspoon on fire behind and in front of the lens. This is Washington’s first post-Scandal role she has selected. She will wrap up her Emmy-nominated turn as Olivia Pope (the first time a black woman was nominated for lead actress in a drama series in 18 years) on April 19. She is producing a Chicago-set teen drama, Five Points, for Facebook Watch and the ABC comedy pilot, Man of the House.
Photo: Getty
