Hulu Picks Up Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington's Little Fires Everywhere
Little Fires Everywhere is about to set Hulu ablaze.
As reported by Entertainment Weekly, Hulu has picked up Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington's adaptation of Celeste Ng's novel Little Fires Everywhere, handing it a straight-to-series order. The project was reportedly shopped to numerous different networks before cozying up with the streaming service, which houses series like the Emmy Award-winning The Handmaid's Tale, Marvel's Runaways, and Difficult People, among others.
Witherspoon became familiar with Little Fires Everywhere when she chose the Ng-penned work as her monthly book club's pick for September of 2017. Soon after, Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine production company acquired adaptation rights. The novel chronicles the consequences of "controversial adoption of a Chinese-American baby in an Ohio suburb."
Hello Sunshine, ABC Signature Studios, and Washington's Simpson Street production banner will join forces to co-produce Little Fires Everywhere. Liz Tigelaar (Life Unexpected, Casual) is set as showrunner of the series. Author Ng is also on board as a producer.
Witherspoon spoke about the exciting news, saying in a statement, "Hulu has a rich history of transforming groundbreaking literature into groundbreaking television, and we are confident that their talented team will use this story to spur a long-overdue dialogue around race, class, and what it means to be a mother. With Kerry Washington, Liz Tigelaar, and now Hulu, Hello Sunshine has brought together a dream lineup of creative collaborators, and we are privileged and humbled to have the opportunity to work with them to bring this important project to life."
Washington added, "As producers, we at Simpson Street are so proud to be part of this team to tell this extraordinary story inspired by Celeste Ng's phenomenal novel and we are thrilled to be embarking on this journey with Hulu. As an actress, I am floored to have the opportunity to work alongside Reese Witherspoon exploring the rich themes of this story playing these dynamic characters."
Hulu chief content officer Joel Stillerman also offered an expression of enthusiasm (via The Hollywood Reporter): "Celeste wove a beautiful, riveting story that spoke to all of us, and when we heard the vision Reese, Kerry, and Liz have for the series, we knew immediately that we had to bring it to Hulu. We're honored to bring this powerful story to the screen with Hello Sunshine, in their first studio project. This is exactly the type of compelling and culturally relevant content that embodies our Hulu Originals brand."
Little Fires Everywhere will mark Washington's first television role after her iconic turn as Olivia Pope in the ABC series Scandal. Witherspoon is no stranger to the small screen either, earning praise for her performance as Madeline Martha Mackenzie in HBO's Big Little Lies.
No word yet on when Little Fires Everywhere will officially begin production.