Circe will soon be casting a spell on television audiences. “Circe,” Madeline Miller’s bestseller about the famed Greek goddess and witch, is being adapted as an eight-episode drama series for HBO Max. WarnerMedia’s upcoming streaming platform acquired the rights to the 2018 novel “in a competitive situation” and gave it a straight-to-series order, Deadline reports.
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” scribes Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa will write and serve as executive producers. Chernin Entertainment and Endeavor Content are producing.
“Circe” is a feminist take on the tales of Greek mythology. The titular character, the daughter of Helios, feels lost and overlooked in her world of gods and nymphs until she discovers her own powers — and embraces her identity as a sorceress. The novel topped the New York Times bestseller list for 16 weeks and won the 2019 Indie Choice Award. It has been translated in 22 languages.
“’Circe’ tells an epic story of love, loss, tragedy, and immortal conflict, all through the eyes of a fierce female lens,” said HBO Max head of original content Sarah Aubrey. “I’ve been a longtime fan of Rick and Amanda’s work and their ability to simultaneously build epic imaginative worlds while creating emotional dynamic characters.”
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” “War for the Planet of the Apes,” and “Jurassic World” are among Silver and Jaffa’s previous credits. The duo also contributed to the scripts for next year’s live-action remake of “Mulan” and two of the forthcoming “Avatar” sequels. Silver penned ’90s cult classic “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.”
Miller’s first novel, “The Song of Achilles,” won the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction. Her essays have been published in outlets such as the Guardian, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.
Other projects in the works at HBO Max include “Dune: The Sisterhood,” which will portray the world of “Dune” through the eyes of the Bene Gesserit, a mysterious order of women, and Jessica Rothe comedy “Delilah.” Dana Calvo will co-showrun the former and Sharon Horgan is exec producing the latter.
