Netflix limited series East of Eden has begun production in New Zealand, directed by Garth Davis and starring a cast led by Florence Pugh.
Written and executive produced by Zoe Kazan, this seven-episode limited series follows the Trask and Hamilton families, two families whose intertwined destinies reenact the Biblical stories of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel. It is an adaptation of John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel.
This modern interpretation explores a multigenerational story through the perspective of antihero Kathy Ames (Pugh), who marries Adam Trask (Christopher Abbott). The cast also includes Mike Feist as Charles Trask, Tracy Letts as Silas Trask, Ciarán Hinds as Samuel Hamilton, Joseph Zada as Cal Trask, and Joe Anders as Aaron Trask. It is.
Hung Lee plays Lee, a servant and friend of the Trask family, and Martha Plimpton stars as Faye, the owner of a brothel that Cassie eventually takes over.
Davis, whose previous work was Lion and Foe, will direct episodes 1-4, and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre will direct episodes 5-7.
Both will serve as executive producers along with Kazan and co-showrunners Jeb Stewart, Antoine Douiahy and Zach Hayden. Fifth Season and Anonymous Content are producing the series, which will be filmed in various locations across New Zealand.
Kazan, whose grandfather Elia Kazan directed the 1955 film “East of Eden,” said her relationship with the novel was multifaceted.
“In the process of bringing this family story to life, the resonance of my own family connection to this material was not lost,” she told Netflix.
“But what has continued to captivate me with East of Eden ever since I first read the book as a teenager is Steinbeck’s writing: personal, shocking, profound, freeing. That’s it.”
