Credit: Getty
Prepare to binge watch…
It’s difficult to think of a TV show that could give The Handmaid’s Tale a run for its money when it comes to the rights of women in a dystopian world, but if anything is going to, it’ll be the adaptation of Naomi Alderman’s hit novel The Power.
First things first: The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood is a fan of Alderman’s, so we shouldn’t feel bad for being excited about Amazon’s forthcoming series.
Alderman’s novel, which was first published in 2016, won the 2017 Bailey’s Women’s Prize for fiction for its depiction of our world with a peculiar, electrifying (literally) twist of nature.
And we’re sure that the TV adaptation is going to be just as exciting, and will start as many water-cooler conservations as The Handmaid’s Tale.
Here’s everything you need to know about the adaptation of The Power.
What is The Power about?
Alderman’s novel is set in a near-future world, where teenage girls suddenly gain the ability to electrocute anyone they want to, simply by touching them with their hands.
The book follows four characters: Allie, a vulnerable American foster child who reinvents herself as a faith leader; Roxy, the daughter of a London crime boss, who revels in her new abilities; Tunde, a Nigerian journalist reporting on seismic global change; and Margot Cleary-Lopez, the Mayor of Seattle, loving wife and doting mother to three children.
The Power’s searing feminist themes struck a similar chord of acclaim on publication, landing on books of year lists from The New York Times to Entertainment Weekly. It has since been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize and been translated into 25 languages.
Who is in The Power?
Amazon has just announced that Leslie Mann has been cast as Margot Cleary-Lopez. Mann has previously been seen in films including This Is 40 and Blockers. She is the first cast member announced for the show.
Who is behind the scenes of The Power?
Alderman is the executive producer of The Power, and has adapted her book for the show. Also on the all-female writing team are co-executive producer Claire Wilson (Rocks, Little Drummer Girl, Gangs of London), co-executive producer and story consultant Sarah Quintrell (Ellen, The Trial: A Murder in the Family), Whit Anderson (Ozark, Daredevil), Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Watchmen, PEN15) and novelist Rebecca Levene (The Hollow Gods Trilogy).
There’s more female firepower in director Reed Morano, who also directed The Handmaid’s Tale. Morano made history in 2017 as the first woman to win both an Emmy and DGA (Directors’ Guild of America) award for her work on the Hulu adaptation of Atwood’s iconic novel.
When is The Power out?
There’s no word yet on when the show might air, as filming has yet to start. We do know that the show will be shot in locations around the world, reflecting the global nature of Alderman’s tale, and given that Amazon is beginning to announce cast members, we predict we can expect the show sometime in late 2020 or early 2021.
It will air on Amazon Prime.
The global aspects of the new production are key for the book’s author. “I’m thrilled beyond words that The Power will be broadcast around the world by Amazon,” Alderman has previously said.
“The story is a global one, about the lives of women and men everywhere in the world, so I’m hugely excited that The Power will be sparking conversation and debate essentially… everywhere. We’re going to make something revolutionary and, dare I say it, electrifying.”
One powerful person who may well tune in when the show airs is Barack Obama; the former US President included The Power on his list of favourite books from 2017. Good choice Barack.
Until it comes out, here are some other great female-led TV shows to watch in the meantime.
Image: Getty / Penguin
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