“My name is Anne Shirley Cuthbert, and please be sure to spell ‘Anne’ with an ‘e’,” the heroine of Netflix’s newest series requests on her first day at a new school. Even if you’ve never heard of “Anne of Green Gables” before, that one line tells you all you need to know about the outspoken, self-assured protagonist.
Based on L.M. Montgomery’s classic series of novels, “Anne” follows the imaginative and adventurous Anne Shirley (Amybeth McNulty), a young orphan, as she arrives at Prince Edward Island near the turn of the century. “After an abusive childhood spent in orphanages and the homes of strangers, [Anne] is mistakenly sent to live with an aging sister and brother,” the official synopsis reads. “Over time, 13-year-old Anne will transform the lives of Marilla (Geraldine James) and Matthew Cuthbert (R.H. Thomson) and eventually the entire small town in which they live with her unique spirit, fierce intellect, and brilliant imagination. Anne’s adventures will reflect timeless and topical issues including themes of identity, feminism, bullying, and prejudice.”
The new spot for “Anne” touches on these themes as we see the main character humiliated when a classmate tells her, “I won’t eat next to dirty trash.” But Anne can handle herself: The trailer also shows her arguing with Marilla that “girls can do anything a boy can do and more,” and smacking classmate Gilbert (“20th Century Women’s” Lucas Jade Zumann) across the face with a book after he pulls her hair.
Emmy-winner Moira Walley-Beckett (“Breaking Bad”) is “Anne’s” showrunner. She penned every episode and serves as exec producer alongside Miranda de Pencier (“Beginners”).
Niki Caro helmed the first episode of the series, while Sandra Goldbacher (“Me Without You”), Helen Shaver (“Orphan Black”), Patricia Rozema (“Into the Forest”), and Amanda Tapping (“Supernatural”) are among the series’ other directors.
“Anne” premieres on Netflix May 12.