The plot follows Jessica, Norah and Alicia, who return to the idyllic farm estate where they were raised by a loving foster mother when a body is discovered beneath the house. Although they were always told that they were lucky to have a second chance at a happy family life after their own family tragedies, the sisters realize that their childhood was not the fairy tale everyone thought it was. They come into the spotlight as key witnesses - or main suspects.
Irish screenwriter and producer Orlagh Collins will helm the adaptation as executive producer and showrunner. Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Katie Amos produce for Made Up Stories. Hepworth and Rob Weisbach also executive produce.
The deal is the latest example of how the book-to-TV adaptation market remains popular, despite the general caution in the international market at the moment following the streamer's reset and declining budgets across the board.
Papandrea contributed to an article on this topic published in MIPCOM magazine. She and her husband Hutensky are known as two of the key players in the trend of the past decade, adapting books into series such as Nine Perfect Strangers, The Undoing and The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. Last week it was reported that the company has acquired the rights to Zoe Foster Blake's novel Things Will Calm Down Soon.
“We love making compelling thrillers at Made Up Stories with complex women at the centre,” said Made Up Stories management in a statement. “Sally’s brilliant book has four of them and, paired with Orlagh Collins’ adaptation, we’ve been left breathless.”
“I’m thrilled to be working with Bruna, Steve and Made Up Stories to adapt ‘Darling Girls’ for series,” added Hepworth. “I’ve long admired their dynamic filmmaking and their passion for telling women’s stories, so I feel unbelievably lucky to partner with them to bring this particular story to life — one that examines three uniquely complex women at the centre of a murder investigation and the team of detectives who grossly underestimate their unbreakable bond of sisterhood.”
