Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to do a wrap up.
With the 2022 chapter closed, we are now ready to open the 2023 chapter: and the literary metaphor is not casual. Raise your hand if these days you’re evaluating your year’s readings: between Goodreads challenges, books that “omg-I-must-have-it” and unexpected literary surprises, this is the moment, whether you’re bookworms or not, to get a round of applause for all the books to read and for the emotions that the literary characters have made us feel. Do not listen to those who say: “eh, but you have not read enough” or “I have only read the untranslated Rosetta Stone, to maintain a certain level of difficulty”: each book is a small, great treasure that has left us something and that has enriched us as people (and in any case, those who say so feel they need to compensate with some other shortcoming, so… so to speak…).
But, since people cannot live by books alone (even though it would not be a bad idea in a fantasy world), to stay on the subject but in a “different” key, we have made a list of adaptations, both on films and TV series of 2023, driven by those titles that have bewitched us in some way, and that are already included in our watchlist (why not having one, besides the TBR list?).
The Most Anticipated Book Adaptations of 2023
“The Lying Life of Adults” by Elena Ferrante // Coming to Netflix on January 4th
After “The Lost Daughter“, Netflix is still betting on Elena Ferrante to adapt another of her successful novels. One of the most anticipated Italian titles of the new year, this series has 6 episodes directed by Edoardo De Angelis, with the writer playing as a screenwriter as well. This time, we are in Naples in the ’90s: the protagonist here is Giovanna, a girl who, in becoming a woman in a difficult family situation, meets a figure destined to change the course of her life: her aunt Vittoria. Torn between her parents and this new relationship, Giovanna explores herself and the city of Naples, divided between above and below, ups and downs, to find her place. Newcomer Giordana Marengo plays the protagonist, while the eclectic character of the aunt comes to life thanks to Valeria Golino. Alessandro Preziosi and Pina Turco are Giovanna’s parents.
“Daisy Jones & The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid // Coming to Prime Video on March 3rd
It was perhaps the most discussed book of recent years. It is still one of the most recommended books on social media (especially through the phenomenon of #booktok). At last, the adaptation it deserves is now coming: in March, in fact, Daisy Jones, Billy Dunne and all the members of the band will arrive in streaming in a limited series that, from the promotional images, already seems to promise very well. The story, set in the ’70s between sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll (literally), tells the beginnings, the success and the mysterious disappearance from the scenes of the band Daisy Jones & The Six, all narrated by the former members after decades. The cast includes Riley Keough as Daisy Jones, while Sam Claflin as Billy Dunne; Camila Morrone plays Camila Dunne, Graham Dunne’s Will Harrison, Karen Sirko’s Suki Waterhouse, Eddie Roundtree’s Josh Whitehouse, Sebastian Chacon as Warren Rhodes, Nabiyah Be as Simone Jackson and Tom Wright as Teddy Price. Executive producers include Reese Witherspoon, with her production company Hello Sunshine.
“Siege and Storm/Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo // Coming to Netflix on March 16th
Ready to go back over the Shadow Fold? One of the most compelling young adult novels of recent years returns to Netflix for the highly anticipated second season. This time, Alina and Mal will have to run away from General Kirigan and, in doing so, Alina will have to discover the full potential of her powers to save the Grisha (but not only) from the darkness. Meanwhile, in Ketterdam, Kaz, Inej and Jesper will find new allies for an impossible feat for everyone except them, the Crows. The adaptation of “Siege and Storm” and “Six of Crows”, although something is different from the books, is one of the most anticipated Netflix titles of next year, after the success of its first season. Beside the beloved members of the original cast, we find new faces: Patrick Gibson plays Nikolai Lantsov, Lewis Tan is removed, and Anna Leong Brophy is Tamar. Jack Wolfe as Wylan, the missing member of the crows. I’m not joking when I say that from 2023 all I’ll be waiting for is the story of Leigh Bardugo to continue on the screen! If you haven’t retrieved the books, do so. ASAP.
“The Ballad of the Nightingale and the Serpent” by Suzanne Collins // Coming to theaters on November 17th
“The Hunger Games,” both as a literary and cinematic saga, has undoubtedly marked an entire generation. We are therefore so excited at the idea of returning to Panem for the adaptation of “The Ballad of the Nightingale and the Serpent”, the prequel focused on the figure of the young president Coriolanus Snow, here engaged with the organization of the tenth Hunger Games. Ambitious and unscrupulous, his interest in winning and glory as a mentor seems to fade when he is entrusted with the fate of Lucy Gray Baird, a girl from District 12, who is far from the Katniss Everdeen we remember: a lover of music and art, she manages to enchant anyone who crosses her. Including, although reluctantly at first, Coriolanus. A relationship, theirs, born in the arena and then destined to an unpredictable development, which will lead Snow to understand how far he is willing to go to achieve his goals. The cast is stellar: the two protagonists are played by Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler, but alongside them we find Peter Dinklage, Viola Davis, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman and Josh Andrés Rivera.
“Red, White & Roysl Blue” by Casey McQuinston // Coming soon on Prime Video
Another bestseller, another social phenomenon, winner of the “Best Debut” and “Best Romance of 2019” at the Goodreads Choice Awards and voted “Best Book of the Year,” by Vogue, NPR and Vanity Fair also in 2019. Those who do not know what we are talking about, should make this up before 2023, when the adaptation will be released on Prime Video. Although we do not have a certain date yet, we know that filming has wrapped up this summer. The romantic comedy follows the Mexican-American Alex Claremont-Diaz, daughter of the President of the United States of America: handsome, charismatic and cleaver, there’s only one person who could compete with him in the world, and it is Prince Henry, the young heir to the throne of England. Always rivals and in competition, everything changes when they find themselves forced to make peace to avoid a scandal on the America-UK axis. What initially began as a truce, then turns into a friendship and then again into a relationship, which leads Henry and Alex to discover each other for what they really are and each other. But two public figures and always under the eyes of the world like them, how will they manage to deal with media exposure? A sweet and funny story that has thrilled millions of readers, and, now, hopefully as many viewers. Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine play Alex and Henry, joined by Uma Thurman, Ellie Bamber, Stephen Fry and Thomas Flynn, among others.
“The Last Thing He Told Me” by Laura Dave // Coming Soon on Apple TV+
The story of Hannah and her sixteen-year-old stepdaughter Bailey investigating on why Owen, her husband, has mysteriously disappeared is the pivotal story that moves all the events of this novel, a literary case and one of the most beloved books of Reese Witherspoon’s book club by over 2 million readers worldwide. A gripping thriller that leads us to understand how much we would be willing to sacrifice for the people we love, and that will arrive next year also in streaming: in the cast, we find Jennifer Garner and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in the role of the protagonist couple, while Angourie Rice plays the daughter. The author of the book adapted the story for TV and is co-creator with Josh Singer, who won the Academy Award for Screenplay for “The Spotlight Case”: certainly one of the most anticipated thriller mini-series of next year!
