Can’t get enough of millennial love stories? Beth O’Leary’s bestselling novel The Flatshare is being adapted for the small screen – and we finally have a first look at the new series.
Take two cash-strapped Londoners in their mid-20s, one broken heart and a hare-brained idea to timeshare a bed, and what do you get? A delicious recipe for millennial love.
If you know your Marian Keyes from your Jojo Moyes, then you’ll also recognise this true-to-life storyline from Beth O’Leary’s bestselling novel The Flatshare. The book follows the life of Tiffy and Leon, two twenty-somethings who agree to share a one-bed flat but not to meet, only for their plan to go awry when the pair begin to rely on each other’s Post-it notes for support.
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Tender, funny and poignant, O’Leary’s novel became one of the most talked about books in 2019, shooting up the Sunday Times bestseller list before being translated into 33 languages. A love story that’s utterly relatable for our times, Stylist’s Francesca Brown wrote that the novel is “like a Richard Curtis film populated by actual humans – transplanting all the delight of a thinking romcom into the 21st century”.
So it’s excellent news, then, that the novel is being adapted for the small screen and due to be released later this year.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount+ has greenlit a new London-set drama titled The Flatshare as part of its plan to launch 50 new international scripted originals this year.
There’s some pretty brilliant casting at hand, too. Jessica Brown Findlay, best known for her portrayal of Lady Sybil Crawley in Downton Abbey will play Tiffy, while Anthony Welsh, who starred as Jack in Fleabag and has also featured in Black Mirror, Master Of None and The Great, will play Leon.
Also joining the cast are The Witcher’s Bart Edwards who will play Tiffy’s ex-boyfriend Justin, and Gangs Of London’s Shaq B. Grant, who will play Leon’s brother Richie.
Other notable faces in the show include Shaniqua Okwok, who played Solly Babatunde in It’s A Sin and Jonah Hauer-King who stars as Prince Eric in the new The Little Mermaid film and will play Tiffy’s best friends Maia and Mo.
Klariza Clayton (Skins) will also play Leon’s girlfriend Kay, while Gina Bramhill (Sherlock) plays Tiffy’s co-worker Rachel.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Beth O’Leary’s captivating bestseller to television,” executive producers Miriam Brent, Rory Aitken and Eleanor Moran said in a statement.
“Bursting with wit and heart, The Flatshare is the perfect love story for a global millennial audience. Adapted for the screen by our incredible showrunner Rose Lewenstein, and helmed by Oscar-nominated director Peter Cattaneo, the creative team is a dream come true.
“With Jessica Brown Findlay and Anthony Welsh as our leads, we can’t wait for audiences to fall in love with Tiffy and Leon all over again.”
And romcom fans, remain calm: we finally have a first look at the anticipated new series. In the images, we get our first glimpse of Tiffy and Leon, aka the lead characters we know we’ll quickly fall in love with.
Elsewhere, we have some emotionally charged solo shots of the leading actors and we can already tell that the series will be the kind of rollercoaster of a watch that we can’t get enough of.
Speaking about the first look release, Jessica Brown Findlay commented: “Working on The Flatshare, bringing Tiff and Leon to romcom life alongside the BRILLIANT Anthony Welsh was a dream come true. We can’t wait for you all to get a set of keys cut and come join us!”
Anthony Welsh added: “I had so much fun making The Flatshare and working with Jessie was a dream. We had such a great cast and crew bringing this world to life and I’m looking forward to sharing our flat with everyone.”
Although no release date has been announced yet, fans of O’Leary’s work will be pleased to know that filming for the new series has wrapped, and the series will be exclusively available on Paramount+ in the UK later this year. Watch this space…
Images: Paramount; Getty
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