Deadline is reporting exclusively that Hulu has secured Marlene King to adapt Elle Kennedy’s latest novel, Thornbird. The Pretty Little Liars creator will serve as writer and executive producer on the project, which is being produced by 20th Television.
This novel marks Kennedy’s debut work under the name E. Kennedy. It centers on Ryan Shipley, a teenager whose father, the notorious serial killer Gabriel Thorn, was apprehended ten years before. She has come back to Starling, Tennessee, where she grew up, and she is determined to hide her true identity. She wants to keep her past a secret from everyone around her.
A normal life as a teenager, with the possibility of falling in love, is all Ryan desires. Her return to Starling puts her directly back into contact with the town that knows her father’s name, and she is desperate to keep her identity from becoming public knowledge. She is not willing to let anyone discover the truth about who she really is.
The Book That Hit The Bestseller List
Thornbird was published on June 30. It debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list. The novel follows one girl’s race to solve the crimes of her family’s twisted past before it is too late.
The Off Campus book series by Kennedy has been adapted for television at Prime Video, and it remains his most prominent work. Season 2 is currently in development. Season 1, which premiered in May, attracted 36 million viewers across the globe within its first 12 days of release. That performance places it as Prime Video’s third most-watched debut series ever.
The Netflix adaptation of her novel Girl Abroad is being developed, with Kit Steinkellner serving as creator — she is the mind behind Sorry for Your Loss.
The Writer Behind Pretty Little Liars
Marlene King is a writer, producer, and director whose work centers on coming-of-age stories. She created Pretty Little Liars, which ran for seven seasons on Freeform and addressed issues such as sexuality and mental illness. That show was based on the Sara Shepard book series, for which she served as showrunner.
Long Lake Media founder King wrote the screenplay for Now & Then, a coming-of-age film, and she has also worked on Just My Luck, If These Walls Could Talk, Freeform’s Famous in Love, and Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists. She keeps adding to her television credits through her production company.
King is repped by WME and Entertainment 360. Kennedy is repped by Independent Artist Group, Circle Management and Production, Park, Fine, & Brower Literary Management, and Toczek Suddleson Law Group LLP.
A Comparison Of Adaptations
| Project | Source Material | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| Thornbird (TV) | Thornbird (novel) | Hulu via 20th Television |
| Off Campus (TV) | Off Campus (book series) | Prime Video |
| Girl Abroad (TV) | Girl Abroad (novel) | Netflix |
What The Story Actually Is
Thornbird follows Ryan Shipley, who returns to Starling, Tennessee, ten years after her father’s capture, when she is 17 years old. She seeks an ordinary existence and romance, while keeping her true identity concealed from everyone around her.
A teenage girl is trying to solve the crimes of her family’s past, which makes the novel a coming-of-age thriller. She does this without anyone around her suspecting that she is anything but a typical teenager.
What Happens Next
The series is currently under development at Hulu, with King serving as writer and executive producer. Kennedy and Lauren Wagner are attached as executive producers alongside King. The production company behind the project is 20th Television.
The book is already a bestseller, while the project remains in development. The author’s history with adaptations shows repeated success, and the writer’s own record is full of hits.
Source material: “Marlene King Developing TV Adaptation Of Elle Kennedy Novel ‘Thornbird’ At Hulu,” Deadline.
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