Australian author Sally Hepworth’s novel Darling Girls will be soon adapted into a TV series, thanks to an acquisition by Made Up Stories.
Darling Girls follows sisters Jessica, Norah and Alicia – who return to the idyllic farming estate where they were raised by a foster mother, only to discover a body under the house. Their return to the Wild Meadows reveals that their childhood wasn’t the fairy tale everyone thought it was, and the sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses – and prime suspects.
The novel won the 2024 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction, and it was a national bestseller in the US and Australia’s number one fiction title upon release.
The production team behind Darling Girls
Bruna Papandrea’s film and TV production company Made Up Stories (Big Little Lies, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart) announced their decision to option Darling Girls for TV today, with Irish screenwriter and producer Orlagh Collins already attached as series writer and showrunner/producer.
Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Katie Amos will produce for Made Up Stories. Hepworth and Rob Weisbach will serve as executive producers. Hepworth is repped by CAA and Rob Weisbach Creative Management.
Made Up Stories said, ‘We love making compelling thrillers at Made Up Stories with complex women at the centre. Sally’s brilliant book has four of them and, paired with Orlagh Collins’ adaptation, we’ve been left breathless.’
‘I’m thrilled to be working with Bruna, Steve and Made Up Stories to adapt Darling Girls for series,’ said Hepworth. ‘I’ve long admired their dynamic filmmaking and their passion for telling women’s stories, so I feel unbelievably lucky to partner with them to bring this particular story to life – one that examines three uniquely complex women at the centre of a murder investigation and the team of detectives who grossly underestimate their unbreakable bond of sisterhood.’
Hepworth is the author of nine acclaimed novels, including The Mother In Law, The Good Sister, The Soulmate, and Uncharted Waters. Her books have been translated in twenty-five languages and have sold more than two million copies worldwide.
Upcoming projects for Made Up Stories include season two of Nine Perfect Strangers, which wrapped filming in June 2024, Marcelle Lunam’s debut feature film Addition, the television series The Last Anniversary (based on the book by Liane Moriarty) and season two of Strife.
Made Up Stories has also recently optioned Zoë Foster Blake’s novel Things Will Calm Down Soon for a TV series.
ScreenHub: Zoë Foster Blake’s Things Will Calm Down Soon optioned for TV
