Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Joe Alwyn and Girls star Jemima Kirke will lead the cast in TV adaptation of Sally Rooney novel Conversations With Friends – following the success of ratings smash hit Normal People
Joe Alwyn and Jemima Kirke have been announced as part of the cast for the TV adaption of Sally Rooney’s 2017 book Conversations With Friends.
The actor, 29, who is dating singer Taylor Swift, and Girls actress, 35, will play married couple Nick and Melissa in the BBC and Hulu series.
While newcomer Alison Oliver will play show and book lead Frances with Utopia star Sasha Lane, 25, taking on the role of her best friend Bobbi.
Announcement: Joe Alwyn and Jemima Kirke (L-R) have been announced as part of the cast for the TV adaption of Sally Rooney’s 2017 book Conversations With Friends
The news comes following the success of Rooney’s 2018 novel Normal People which was adapted into a ratings smash hit TV series last year.
It saw show leads Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones soar to fame after it aired during the first lockdown.
Filming will take place later this year in Dublin, Belfast and other international locations which are yet to be announced.
Frances star Alison is an emerging talent from drama school Lir Academy in Dublin, Ireland, whose fellow graduates include Normal People’s Mescal.
Roles: The actor, 29, pictured, who is dating singer Taylor Swift, and Girls actress, 35, will play married couple Nick and Melissa
Best friend duo: Newcomer Alison Oliver, left, will play show and book lead Frances with Utopia star Sasha Lane, 25, right, taking on the role of her best friend Bobbi
It was confirmed in June that BBC Three and Hulu were adapting Rooney’s novel Conversations with Friends.
The 12-part series of half hour episodes will be helmed by Irish Oscar-nominated director Lenny Abrahamson, who also directed Normal People, while Rooney will be on board as executive producer.
Normal People writer Alice Birch, who is also a story editor on HBO drama Succession, will be lead writer for the adaptation.
Birch will also work alongside Mark O’Halloran, Meadhbh McHugh and Susan Soon He Stanton.
Like Rooney’s 2018 smash, Conversations With Friends is also set in Trinity College Dublin.
It follows two college students Frances and Bobbi, and the strange, unexpected connection they forge with a married couple, Melissa and Nick.
Sally first published Conversations With Friends in 2017 and released Normal People in 2018, with the latter winning Costa Book Award and Irish Novel of the Year – to name a few accolades.
Normal People co-producer Ed Guiney teased the future plans for Conversations with Friends in May when asked about a second series following Connell and Marianne:
‘Not in the short term. We’ve turned our attention – we’re adapting Conversations with Friends as a television series. But maybe down the line we’ll come back to Connell and Marianne,’ he added.
Normal People has been the most watched show on BBC Three ever.
The first episode of the drama has now been watched by 6.75 million devices just two months after it aired, making it the most popular programme on the channel ever.