Hulu Orders Drama ‘Normal People’

Hulu has given a straight to series order on “Normal People,” a 12-episode, half-hour drama, adapted from Sally Rooney’s NY Times best-selling novel from Element Pictures, in association with BBC Three. The logline: “Normal People” tracks the tender but complicated relationship of Marianne and Connell from the end of their school days in small-town west of Ireland to their undergraduate years at Trinity College. At school, he’s well-liked and popular, while she’s lonely, proud and intimidating. But when Connell comes to pick up his mother from her cleaning job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers – one they are determined to conceal. A year later, they’re both studying in Dublin and Marianne has found her feet in a new social world but Connell hangs at the side lines, shy and uncertain.

“Normal People,” an Element Pictures production, stars Daisy Edgar-Jones (“War of the Worlds,” “Cold Feet”) as Marianne, and Paul Mescal, in his first television role, as Connell. Lenny Abrahamson (“The Little Stranger,” “Frank”) and Hettie McDonald will direct the series, with Abrahamson directing the first six and McDonald directing the final six.