Updated 3 May 2022: As we count down the days till the release of the long-awaited Sally Rooney adaptation, the BBC have once again treated us to another look at the new series.

Conversations With Friends is set to be the sultry, slow-burning series of the year and we cannot wait. The new trailer delivers on the intrigue, sexual tension and interesting friendship dynamics, all in wonderful and endearing supply. We have our first look at Frances and Nick’s affair and also get to see the first sparks fly between Melissa and Bobbi.

Watch it for yourself here:

Updated 12 April 2022: Well we knew the time was nearing when we’d be getting a long-anticipated update on the Conversations With Friends BBC series and the day is finally here, people.

While we’ve been treated to first look images, a trailer and a spring-related release date, the BBC have today given us a sneak peek at the dreamy, pensive nature of the upcoming series and we couldn’t be happier.

As well as the new teaser, we finally have a release date for the well-known Sally Rooney adaptation and it’s sooner than we’d hoped. The highly anticipated Conversation With Friends will air on Sunday 15 May on BBC Three, with all episodes available that day on BBC iPlayer. So, the real question is: do we binge-watch or take our time and watch the episodes weekly?

If the new teaser is anything to go by, the series is going to be a slow-building, tense and sultry drama – we can’t wait. Watch the new clip for yourself here:

Updated 8 February 2022: Just four days after we got our first look at the anticipated Conversations With Friends series, the BBC have blessed us with yet another nugget of Sally Rooney-related bliss – this time in the form of a trailer.

It’s our first proper look at the upcoming series and honestly, it’s worth the wait. 

It’s sultry, steamy and very, very tense – all the makings of a superb drama, we say. We already knew that the novel was a gloriously layered look at relationship dynamics but, from the looks of the trailer, the new series will also be teaming with stolen glances, intense eye contact and a whole lot of passion. 

And what’s better is we now know that we don’t have long to wait for the drama – it’s confirmed to air on BBC Three this Spring. Watch the new trailer for yourself here:

Updated 4 February 2022: We finally have our first look at the highly anticipated Sally Rooney adaptation and it’s safe to say that the upcoming sensual drama is already giving us impeccable vibes.

That’s right Conversations With Friends fans, we have a host of new images to drool over. I mean, just look at Frances and Nick: 

Is this a possible connection between Melissa and Bobbi, we spy?

Bobbi and Frances look very, very close – despite the pair breaking up three years previously, they remain best friends are virtually inseparable and perform spoken word poetry together in Dublin:

With the BBC drama (and original Sally Rooney novel) focusing on this quirky foursome – despite their obvious differences – we are truly excited to see the gang together:

Updated on 20 December 2021: If you’ve been waiting impatiently for word about the forthcoming adaptation of Conversations With Friends, we come bearing good news.

The BBC has just released the first official image of Alison Oliver as Frances in the BBC’s new drama, which brings to life Irish literary sensation Sally Rooney’s bestselling novel about a 21-year-old college student as she navigates a series of relationships.

Newcomer Oliver (above as Frances) will star opposite Joe Alwyn (Mary Queen Of Scots) as Nick in the adaptation of Rooney’s novel. The ensemble also includes Sasha Lane (American Honey) as Frances’ best friend Bobbi and Jemima Kirke (Sex Education).

Updated on 28 April 2021:

Filming has started on the BBC Three adaptation of Sally Rooney’s debut novel, Conversations With Friends. 

The official Twitter account for the series shared a first behind-the-scenes photo of the production, writing alongside it: “It’s day one of filming #ConversationswithFriends in Northern Ireland! We’re so excited to bring this world to life.”

Joe Alwyn, who stars in the series, later shared the update on his Instagram Stories.

Here’s everything we know about the adaptation so far…

Original article from 18 February 2021:

Last year’s hit TV series, Normal People, was the kind of compulsive, brilliantly told coming-of-age drama that gets under your skin and stays there for weeks to come. 

The BBC’s adaptation of Sally Rooney’s bestselling novel was the talk of the TV world, opening up the author’s deceptively simple storytelling to a whole new legion of fans.

A stellar cast led by Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal teased out elements of love, hurt, friendship and desire layered within Rooney’s story, to create an unmissable TV fix.

That’s why fans have welcomed the news that Rooney’s first novel, Conversations With Friends, is also getting the BBC Three treatment. 

The award-winning novel, which was published in 2017,  quickly secured Rooney’s reputation as “the first great millennial author” and the “voice of a generation”.

Conversations with Friends is not related to the storyline of Normal People at all, but both explore similar themes of love, hurt, friendship and desire. So we know that it’s going to work just as well on screen as its sister story.

Here’s everything we know about the series so far…

What is Conversations with Friends about?

Conversations with Friends tells the story of two college students – Frances and Bobbi – living in Dublin, who form a complicated connection with an older married couple called Nick and Melissa. Despite their obvious differences, the foursome quickly embark on a “complex ménage-à-quatre” that’s played out in a world of glamorous dinner parties, beautiful homes and holidays to Provence.  But the strange new dynamic quickly shines a light on vulnerabilities no-one saw coming. 

Rooney wrote the book while studying for her master’s degree in American literature. Published in 2017 to rave reviews after a seven-party auction for the publishing rights, it was nominated for the 2018 Swansea University International Dylan Thomas Prize and the 2018 Folio Prize.

Is there any link between Normal People and Conversations with Friends?

No, the storyline of Conversations with Friends is not related to Normal People, although both come with the imprint of Rooney’s inimitable storytelling style. 

Normal People co-producer Ed Guiney says this upcoming adaptation will come in the place of a sequel to our 2020 TV obsession. 

“We’ve turned our attention – we’re adapting Conversations with Friends as a television series,” he said in a recent interview, adding that “maybe down the line we’ll come back to Connell and Marianne [from Normal People]”.

Who will star in Conversations with Friends?

The cast is exciting to say the least. Alison Oliver, an emerging actor from Lir Academy (whose graduates include Normal People’s Mescal) will play Frances. Sasha Lane (The Miseducation of Cameron Post) will star as Bobbi. 

Rounding off the cast is Joe Alwyn (The Favourite, Mary Queen Of Scots ), who will play Nick and Jemima Kirke (Sex Education, Girls), who is set to star as Melissa.

Who will direct Conversations with Friends?

Conversations with Friends will run under Element Pictures, the same production company that took the helm for Normal People. Lenny Abrahamson, who co-directed the hit BBC drama along with Hettie Macdonald, will once again take the director’s seat for the new series.  He previously earned an Oscar nomination for 2015’s Room (starring Brie Larson),

“I love Conversations with Friends, its depth, humour and freshness, and it’s an honour to be involved in bringing it to the screen,” Abrahamson said. “I’m particularly happy that my connection to Sally and her work is set to continue. Making Normal People has been a singular pleasure and I’m excited to be working with the same brilliant team again on Conversations with Friends.”

Speaking about the production, Rooney added: “I am so pleased to be working with the team at Element, Lenny Abrahamson and the BBC to produce an adaptation of Conversations with Friends.

“I’m confident we’re going to find fresh and interesting ways of dramatising the novel’s dynamics, and I’m excited to watch the process take shape‎.”

When and where will Conversations with Friends be released?

Conversations with Friends will consist of 12 half-hour episodes and air on BBC Three on Sunday 15 May on BBC Three, with all episodes available that day on BBC iPlayer.

Images: Getty, BBC, Faber & Faber, Hulu