The BBC has commissioned a series based on Trinity graduate Sally Rooney’s debut novel Conversations with Friends.
The series will consist of 12 half-hour episodes. An adaption of Rooney’s second novel, Normal People, is set to air on the online-only BBC Three in April.
The director of Normal People, Lenny Abrahamson, will remain involved in the second adaptation along with screenwriter Alice Birch and Rooney. Many of the other staff members who worked on the Normal People series will begin work on the series adaptation of the Irish author’s first novel.
Conversations with Friends follows a pair of Dublin college students, Frances and Bobbi, who form an unconventional bond with a married couple.
Normal People stars a graduate of Trinity’s Lir Academy, Paul Mescal, who will play male protagonist Connell, while Daisy Edgar-Jones will play second protagonist Marianne.
Parts of Normal People were filmed on Trinity’s campus in July, including in the Ussher and Berkeley Libraries, the Arts Building and Front Square. A casting call was made for Trinity students to play extras.
Normal People has picked up many awards since its release in 2018, including Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards, Book of the Year at the British Book Awards, the Costa Novel Award and the Waterstones Fiction Book of the Year. It was also longlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Award.
Rooney studied English Literature in Trinity and was elected a scholar.
