Following the stratospheric success of Sally Rooney’s Normal People, the next adaptation of one of her novels is set to be among the hottest TV releases of 2022.
Once again, Sally Rooney’s native Ireland forms the backdrop to the eagerly awaited TV adaptation of her acclaimed debut novel Conversations with Friends.
The new series started airing on Sunday 15 May, with the 12-part drama premiering on BBC Three in the UK. All 12 episodes – each 30 minutes long – are available to stream now on BBC iPlayer, and Hulu in the US.
From the team behind the global success of the TV adaptation of Rooney’s book Normal People in 2020, Conversations with Friends sees director Lenny Abrahamson return alongside co-director Leanne Welham with Oscar and Bafta-winning Dublin company Element Pictures again producing the 12-part series.
The TV drama centres on two Dublin college students, Frances and Bobbi, and the strange and unexpected connection they forge with a married couple, Melissa and Nick. It’s been described as both a complex coming-of-age drama and a very modern love story.
Cork actress Alison Oliver, an emerging talent from Irish drama school Lir Academy (whose graduates include Normal People star Paul Mescal) plays Frances, a 21-year-old college student who faces her vulnerabilities as she navigates a series of relationships.
Sasha Lane (American Honey) will star as Bobbi, while Joe Alwyn (The Favourite) plays Nick, and Jemima Kirke (Girls) will play Melissa.
As was the case with Normal People, the film locations and settings for Conversations with Friends skilfully reflect and contrast with the internal landscapes of Rooney’s characters.
The main setting is Dublin, with the textures of everyday city life shining through on-screen and the author’s alma mater Trinity College reappearing in a lead role. Rooney wrote the book while studying for her master’s degree in American Literature at Trinity.
Trinity is home to The Book of Kells, a beautifully illuminated Gospel manuscript and one of Ireland’s greatest cultural treasures, and is famous for its history and architecture, which includes a collection of elegant Georgian and Victorian buildings, and cobbled squares and gardens. Its barrel-vaulted Long Room library, housing over 200,000 ancient books, is also one of the most photographed places in Dublin.
The lead characters appear in front of Trinity’s classical eighteenth-century front gate, on the grounds and at the university’s cricket pitch, while Frances spends time studying in the modernist 1960s Berkeley Library.
Frances’s flat is in the centre of Dublin, filmed on Hardwicke Street. She is seen on the streets nearby, including Blessington Street, as well as in the cultural hub of the Temple Bar area, on Lower Abbey Street and in cafés and bars in the city.
