Netflix is developing a series adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth, the streaming service announced in a news release.
Lahiri’s story collection, published by Knopf in 2008, follows a group of Bengalis assimilating into American culture. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus wrote of the book, “An eye for detail, ear for dialogue, and command of family dynamics distinguish this uncommonly rich collection.”
The Netflix series will be set in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “When a star-crossed romance between a devoted wife and her long-lost love comes to light, a scandalous affair is born and new battle lines are drawn in this intensely inter-connected immigrant community,” Netflix says.
John Wells (Animal Kingdom, The Pitt) will serve as showrunner of the series, with Nisha Ganatra (Transparent) directing the first episode.
Lahiri’s debut novel, The Namesake, was adapted into a 2006 film directed by Mira Nair and starring Kal Penn, Tabu, and Irrfan Khan.
Netflix also announced a limited-series adaptation of Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence, with Emma Frost (The Spanish Princess) as showrunner. Wharton’s novel has been adapted for the screen several times before, most recently in 1993 as a film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
