New York Times bestselling author Sally Hepworth, along with Liane Moriarty, Emily Perkins, Zoe Foster Blake, and Jane Harper, has been optioned by Makeup Stories to produce her ninth novel, Darling. Girls” will be made into a TV series.
Winner of the 2024 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Novel, The Darling Girls follows adoptive sisters Jessica, Nora and Alicia as they return to the idyllic agricultural estate where they were raised by their loving adoptive mother. A body is discovered below.
Adoptive sisters rescued from family tragedies were constantly told how lucky they were to have been given that elusive second chance at a happy family life. But when it becomes clear that their childhood was not the fairy tale everyone expected, the sisters are thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses and prime suspects.
The story will be adapted for television by Irish writer and producer Orlagh Collins, who will also serve as executive producer and showrunner. Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Katie Amos will serve as producers for Makeup Stories, with Hepworth and Rob Weisbach serving as executive producers alongside Collins.
The author said she has long admired Makeup Stories’ “dynamic filmmaking and passion for telling women’s stories.”
“I’m thrilled to be working with Bruna, Steve and Makeup Stories to turn Darling Girls into a series,” she said.
“We feel incredibly lucky to be able to work with them to bring this special story to life. This story follows three unique and complex women at the center of a murder investigation. and a team of detectives who grossly underestimate their unbreakable sisterly bond.”
The announcement is part of a flurry of recent options for the company, which has also adapted Blake’s “Things Will Calm Down Soon,” Moriarty’s “Here One Moment” and Perkins’ “The Lioness.”
Papandrea said “Darling Girls” falls well within the realm of storytelling.
“We love creating gripping thrillers with made-up stories that center around complex women,” she said.
“Sally’s wonderful book includes four of them, and together with Orlagh Collins’ adaptation, it took our breath away.”
