The first book to television adaptation of a J.K. Rowling book will arrive on the small screen in mid-February, and the show is better than the novel according to one review.
The Casual Vacancy mini-series will launch on February 15 at 9 p.m. GMT on BBC One, the network announced this week. The series consists of three hour-long episodes and stars Michael Gambon, Julia McKenzie, and Keeley Hawes.
The television adaptation of Rowling’s first post-Potter novel may put a bandaid on the story for readers who were less than thrilled with the book. Currently sitting limp with a 3-star rating on Amazon, it is the lowest rated of the 10 books Rowling has published over her career (“It goes from being a lively comedy of manners to over-wrought slog by the end,” wrote one critical reviewer).
A review of the first Casual Vacancy mini-series episode published on The Guardian speaks highly of the adaptation penned by Sarah Phelps. For example, the review states that the book, which they consider “at times quite unremittingly awful,” has been adapted into a “more bearable” story.
“Rowling’s book can be quite relentlessly bleak,” the reviewer writes. “Phelps has also injected more humour and, by allowing The Casual Vacancy’s hero to survive for longer than the scant few pages Rowling permitted in the novel, brought some much-needed warmth to the screen.”
In other words, this may be one of very few occasions where a show is better than the book it’s based on.
Rowling appears to be very pleased with the adaptation too. In December we learned that Rowling and BBC One are teaming up again to adapt her Cormoran Strike series. The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm, the first two books in the series, have received rave reviews from critics and fans alike.
The Casual Vacancy is not only the first book of Rowling’s to be adapted for television, but it’s also the first Rowling book to receive a tie-in edition. The cover features four characters including Gambon’s:
Rowling prevented the Harry Potter books from receiving tie-in editions – a decision that was praised by fans.
HBO teamed up with BBC One to produce The Casual Vacancy mini-series, so presumably the American cable channel is aiming to air this series sometime this year.
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