After being blown away by the Prime Video adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s novel Daisy Jones & The Six, I decided to circle back and read the author’s debut novel, the “tragic love story” drama Forever, Interrupted… and as the story went on, I became more and more surprised that it hadn’t yet received an adaptation of some sort. It seemed ready to be brought to the screen as a heartbreaking and heartwarming movie or TV show, with solid roles for two lead actresses. Well, now it’s getting its adaptation. Glamour reports (via Deadline) that Margaret Qualley (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Laura Dern (Jurassic Park) are set to star in a limited series adaptation of Forever, Interrupted that’s coming our way from A24 and the Netflix streaming service.
Julia Bicknell, whose previous credits include 13 Reasons Why, The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Midnight Club, and Yellowjackets, is writing the adaptation and serves as showrunner. Forever, Interrupted tells the following story: Elsie (Qualley) and Ben’s whirlwind romance is electric – within months they’re married and living happily ever after – when Ben’s unexpected death forces Elsie to come face to face with Susan (Dern), the mother-in-law who doesn’t know that she exists. Told through a dual timeline, the series recounts Elsie and Ben’s once-in-a-lifetime love, intercut with Elsie and Susan’s unexpected journey as their at first turbulent connection ultimately brings both women cathartic new beginnings.
The novel was a bestseller in 2013. There was a previous attempt to bring the story to the screen, as a film adaptation was set up at Gidden Media and Good Universe back in 2014, with Dakota Johnson attached to star as Elsie. It just didn’t make it into production.
Jessica Rhoades and Alison Mo Massey are executive producing the Forever, Interrupted limited series for Pacesetter Productions, which has a first-look deal with A24. Reid is also executive producing alongside Brad Mendelsohn for Circle of Confusion; Dern and Jayme Lemons for Jaywalker Pictures; and Qualley and Brett Hedblom for I Understand Pictures.
What do you think of Margaret Qualley, Laura Dern, A24, Netflix, and Taylor Jenkins Reid teaming up for the Forever, Interrupted limited series? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
Taylor Jenkins Reid was working in the casting department on Hollywood productions when she decided she didn’t just want to find actors to play characters, she wanted to create the characters from the ground up. That’s why she started writing novels. The 2023 film One True Loves, which was directed by Andy Fickman and starred Phillipa Soo, Simu Liu, and Luke Bracey, was also based on one of her books.