Little Fires Everywhere, a forthcoming series from Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon based on the bestselling book by Celeste Ng, has landed an eight-episode order at Hulu.
Variety reports that Washington and Witherspoon will both star in and executive produce the series, which according to a press release “explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood – and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.”
Hulu was the victor in an aggressive bidding war for the project, and is understandably delighted to have won:
“Celeste wove a beautiful, riveting story that spoke to all of us, and when we heard the vision Reese, Kerry and Liz have for the series, we knew immediately that we had to bring it to Hulu,” Hulu’s chief content officer Joel Stillerman said in a statement. “We’re honored to bring this powerful story to the screen with Hello Sunshine, in their first studio project. This is exactly the type of compelling and culturally relevant content that embodies our Hulu Originals brand.”
Witherspoon was a fan of Ng’s work long before Little Fires Everywhere exploded on to the bestseller lists, having chosen it as the September 2017 pick for her book club, which apparently exists. After that, she approached Washington with the book, and the two worked together to get now-showrunner Liz Tigelaar on board. Voila.
Unrelated: Do you remember when Witherspoon was packed into a hyper-glamorous elevator at the Met Ball and told Cara Delevingne that I don’t know what yer fuckin’ name is. Those were the days.