East of Eden by John Steinbeck is getting a miniseries! The show is slated to join the Netflix lineup with the vision of writer Zoe Kazan taking centerstage to bring the story from the pages of the book to the streaming world.
“Zoe’s thoughtful and artistic vision pays homage to her grandfather’s revered film adaptation while beautifully honoring and introducing new audiences to a true canon of American literature,” Peter Friedlander, vice president of scripted series (US & Canada) for Netflix, said in a statement. “She is an inspiring, creative force and we can not wait for everyone to see what she and Jeb, alongside the brilliant cast led by Florence Pugh, bring to screen.”
East of Eden is a classic by John Steinbeck that explores allegory as well as love and class. The storyline is that of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, who do life in Salinas Valley.
The Trask family is wealthy and enjoys the perks of having a lot of resources. Meanwhile, the Hamilton family struggles to get by in 19th-century California. Family and class lines collide when love enters the picture.
“In the process of bringing this family saga to life, the resonance of my own familial connection to the material has not been lost on me,” Zoe Kazan said of writing the script for the forthcoming series on Netflix. “But it is Steinbeck’s writing–personal, shocking, profound, and free –that has kept me enthralled to East of Eden since I first read the book as a young teen,” she continued.
“Working on this has been the greatest joy, and I am thrilled by the cast and crew we are assembling – and deeply grateful to Netflix, Fifth Season & Anonymous Content for their support.”
Filming for Netflix’s East of Eden will reportedly begin near the end of 2024. The series will allegedly be shot in New Zealand and wrap up around April 2025.