The Guardian reports that Moira Walley-Beckett, the writer of “Ozymandias” and a variety of other excellent Breaking Bad episodes, is adapting Anne of Green Gables.
The writer — who’s also responsible for the ballet drama Flesh and Bone, which Flavorwire’s own Alison Herman critiqued for yielding “too many clichés and too few innovations” — is turning the 1908 novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery into Anne, an eight-part series (one of many, many shows and films adapted from the novel — beginning with a silent film from 1919) for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
The novel follows the life of an 11 year old orphan (who’s 13 in the TV series) from Nova Scotia who’s mistakenly sent to a brother and sister who’d been looking to adopt a boy to help them on their farm — Green Gables. It traces her experience in her new home, at a new school, in new friendships and rivalries (and in the case of her classmate Gilbert, both) and eventually into the burdens of early adulthood. According to a media release, the adaptation will reflect both the original text and bring in new adventures that explore “timeless issues, including themes of identity, sexism, bullying, prejudice, and trusting one’s self.”
Walley Beckett made a statement about the adaptation, saying:
Anne’s issues are contemporary issues: feminism, prejudice, bullying and a desire to belong. The stakes are high and her emotional journey is tumultuous. I’m thrilled to delve deeply into this resonant story, push the boundaries and give it new life.