It’s been a little over a year since we obsessed over Reese Witherspoon's adaption of Big Little Lies, and now the star is bringing a second suburban drama to the small screen. Last week, Witherspoon announced that, in partnership with Scandal’s Kerry Washington, she will develop Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere into a television series. Both actresses are the founders of the Hello Sunshine and Simpson Street production companies, respectively.
Related: The Complete Reese's Book Club List
While Little Fires Everywhere has not been picked up by a network, it should have no trouble finding a home. [Update: Little Fires Everywhere has since been picked up by Hulu and will be available to stream in March 2020.] The New York Times bestseller was Ng's highly anticipated follow up to Everything I Never Told You, a racially-charged story about the effects of tragedy and prejudice on a Chinese-American family. The author treads similar territory in Little Fires Everywhere, as tensions rise in a community of Cleveland suburbanites who hail from different social classes.
Related: 9 Books Like Little Fires Everywhere
When Mia and her daughter, Pearl, rent a house from the Richardson family, the Richardson children are immediately drawn to the duo’s less conventional, bohemian lifestyle. Wealthy and with parents in corporate jobs, they have lived orderly, privileged lives—and the kids are desperate for a taste of freedom. Disaster ensues once the families become closer, and the most rebellious Richardson, Izzy, forms a particularly strong bond with Mia.
This all plays against a divisive local scandal: A poor Chinese mother has demanded that her child, adopted by an affluent white couple, be returned to her. The Richardsons, Mia, and Pearl all have a hand in the custody battle, and the taking of sides fuels the growing animosity between them.
Little Fires Everywhere is the second Ng adaptation currently in the works. Earlier this year, Deadline reported that Everything I Never Told You is headed to the big screen, with LD Entertainment and Michael DeLuca (The Social Network, Captain Phillips) set to produce.
Read both of Celeste Ng's New York Times bestsellers before you see the adaptations!
Featured image: Celeste Ng, via Alchetron
