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NY Times, TVWeek

Attention ‘Breaking Bad’ Fans: Classic Children’s Novel Getting a New Reboot, But This One Promises to Be Different

Aug 23, 2016  •  Post A Comment

A classic children’s novel that has been the focus of countless adaptations for TV, film, radio, the stage and, more recently, the Web, is in the works for yet another adaptation. Netflix announced Monday that it will adapt “Anne of Green Gables” for a dramatic TV series, with production to begin in September in Canada.

“The series, ‘Anne,’ may prove to be an edgier incarnation than any of the many previous editions based on the 1908 novel by the Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery: The eight-episode series was penned by the Canadian writer Moira Walley-Beckett, who previously found critical acclaim, including an Emmy for outstanding drama writing, for her work on ‘Breaking Bad,'” The New York Times reports

The books — the original “Anne of Green Gables” and five subsequent novels — have provided the source material for movies going back to the silent era, with the first adaptation in 1919.

The Times notes that the books are “centered on Anne Shirley, an orphan who finds herself in the care of a pair of elderly siblings on Prince Edward Island, a place described in the author’s journals as rich in ‘ruby, and emerald, and sapphire.’ (While the backdrop for the novels is fictional, Prince Edward Island nonetheless became a tourist destination for fans of the books and of the multiple Canadian television mini-series starring Jonathan Crombie and Megan Follows.)”

In a statement announcing the streaming service’s plans for the new project, Netflix VP Elizabeth Bradley said: “Anne Shirley is one of Canada’s greatest gifts to the world, known and loved internationally.”

The project was greenlighted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and will be produced by Northwood Entertainment, with New Zealander Niki Caro to direct.

anne of green gables-book cover

One Comment

  1. Because it has so much in common with Breaking Bad. I’m sure there will be as many fans flocking to this as there were Scorsese fans flocking to Hugo.

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