Now, a TV series is on the way and a wave of warm, beautiful first-look photos have been released – a teaser for the intense, loving drama to come. Here's everything we know.
What's the story of Normal People?
Normal People follows teenagers Connell and Marianne, who live in the same small Irish town. He's popular but poor; she's awkward but affluent. They are both bright, and something sparks between them. When both Connell and Marianne go to Trinity College Dublin, their own identities shift and slip.
Rooney is adapting the book herself, along with writers Alice Birch (Lady Macbeth) and Mark O'Rowe (The Delinquent Season), into 12 episodes. Being on BBC Three, this could mean the whole series will be available online all at once (like Killing Eve) or episodically (like Fleabag) – most likely in half-hour instalments.
Lenny Abrahamson (The Little Stranger, Room) and Hettie MacDonald (Howards End) share directorial duties for the series. Filming took place in Dublin, Sligo and Italy.
Who's in the Normal People cast?
Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones play millennial couple Connell and Marianne
Daisy Edgar-Jones (Gentleman Jack, Cold Feet) is playing Marianne and, in his television debut, Paul Mescal plays Connell.
Also starring in the series are: Sean Doyle as Eric, Sarah Greene as Lorraine, Eanna Hardwicke as Rob, and Gwynne McElveen as Caitlin.
What's the Normal People release date?
Details are vague, only stating a release in 2020. But if the BBC wants to repeat the Fleabag strategy, we can predict a March release (hopefully); leaving plenty of time to read, or reread, the book.
| What | Normal People, BBC: first-look photos, release date, plot, cast |
| Price | £n/a |
| Website |
