PEOPLE POWER
Adaptation of hit drama goes global after international deals Next chapter on the way...
THE TV adaptation of Normal People is going global after the production company behind the hit landed multiple international deals.
The Element Pictures-produced drama based on Sally Rooney’s novel will now be shown worldwide.
A report confirms Starzplay has bought exclusive rights to the adaptation of the Co Mayo writer’s novel for Germany,
Austria, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg,
Latin America and Japan.
Speaking of the show’s impact, an RTE spokeswoman said last week: “The response and reaction has been hugely positive so far and the figures speak for themselves with almost 1.5 million streams on RTE Player.
“We’re proud to show the beautiful story about Connell and Marianne on RTE, particularly at a time that people at home need some escapism.”
The third instalment last week on RTE had an average overnight figure of 343,000 live viewers.
Endeavor Content has also sold the critically acclaimed production to TV companies in multiple other territories including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Greece, Cyprus and Malta, Iceland, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Russia and Sweden.
Normal People was one of the big winners in movie tax reliefs granted last year.
Figures released by the Revenue Commissioners show that Element Pictures Productions Ltd secured Section 481 tax relief for the TV adaptation of the international best seller of between €2million and €5million.
The mounting success of the story of Connell and Marianne’s romance follows a rich vein of success for Element Pictures on the big screen through the multi-award winning, The Favourite, Room and The Killing of a Sacred Deer which was a breakout hit for young Dublin actor Barry Keoghan. The Element Pictures team that produced Normal People is already working on producing Ms Rooney’s debut novel, Conversations with Friends.
Sally Rooney
SALLY Rooney has already written about what happened to Normal People’s Connell and Marianne after the book finishes.
Viewers have been begging for a sequel since the TV adaption of the novel hit screens last month.
But those wondering what became of the pair may not have to wait too long for a second series at all, because it turns out Rooney has already written about the relationship further down the line – before Normal People hit our screens.
The book came off the back of a short piece first published in 2016 titled At The Clinic, set after the years we followed Marianne and Connell through school and university.
After first bringing the characters to life in the short story, Rooney told New Statesman: “I kept wanting to write about these characters who were in their early 20s and their relationship had this texture to it because of their history.”
NOVEL