Channel 4 has ordered an adaptation of the best-selling novel ‘The Rachel Incident‘ from the New York Times bestselling novelist, podcaster and screenwriter Caroline O’Donoghue, who adapts her own novel alongside Jen Statsky, co-creator of the utterly brilliant hit series, ‘Hacks‘.
Rachel is a student working at a bookstore when she meets James, and it is love at first sight. Effervescent and insistently heterosexual, James soon invites Rachel to be his roommate, and the two begin a friendship that changes the course of both their lives forever. Together, they run riot through the streets of Cork City, trying to maintain a bohemian existence while the threat of the financial crash looms before them.
When Rachel falls in love with her married professor, Dr Fred Byrne, James helps her devise a reading at their local bookstore, with the goal that she might seduce him afterwards. But Fred has other desires. So begins a series of secrets and compromises that intertwine the fates of James, Rachel, Fred, and Fred’s glamorous, well-connected wife Deenie.
“Like most authors I’ve always dreamed of having my work adapted for the screen, but never could have imagined a situation as dreamy as this,” said O’Donoghue. “Channel 4 and Element have, between them, created some of the best relationship dramas on TV and I know they’ll do the same for Rachel. NBCUniversal have been stalwart collaborators since long before the book was even published, and I’m so grateful to them for setting me up with Jen Statsky who has been an incredible mentor to me as I embark on my first show. I’m incredibly lucky.”
Caroline O’Donoghue is a New York Times bestselling novelist, podcaster and screenwriter. She has adapted her sixth novel, The Rachel Incident, for television with Universal Studios/Element/Channel 4. Caroline’s podcast, Sentimental Garbage, tours internationally and has acquired over 11 million downloads worldwide. She is also developing original features and long-form drama. Her seventh novel SKIPSHOCK is a fantasy time travel epic and will be published in June by Walker Books. She was born in Cork, Ireland and currently lives in London.
“Caroline’s adaptation of her brilliant novel, and her vision for a returning series, was that rare thing – undeniably funny, razor-sharp in its honesty and observation, but bursting with heart and genuine emotion,” adds Ollie Madden, Director of Film4 and Channel 4 Drama. “We’re also huge fans of Hacks, so to have Jen Statsky working side-by-side with Caroline is the icing on the cake. Together with our friends at Element, UCP and PageBoy, we know this team is going to make something extraordinary.”
Jen Statsky is an American television writer, producer, and comedian best known for co-creating and co-showrunning the Emmy-winning HBO Max series ‘Hacks‘, which was recently added to stream on Sky and NOW in the UK. She began her career with internships on shows such as ‘Saturday Night Live’ and ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’ before landing a writing job at ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’. She has since written for acclaimed shows like ‘Parks and Recreation’, ‘Broad City’, and ‘The Good Place’.
“We have long been fans of Caroline’s work – The Rachel Incident is extraordinary in how it weaves smart, witty comedy with genuine moral dilemmas and pathos, and brings us right to the heart of an achingly funny and endearing friendship,” said Element Pictures. “It’s a world that is both intrinsically Irish and one that we feel audiences all over will recognize and love. We’re thrilled to be working with her and Jen Statsky alongside our brilliant partners at Pageboy, NBCUniversal and Channel 4 to bring these characters off the page and to screen.”
‘The Rachel Incident’ was commissioned by Ollie Madden, Director of Film4 and Channel 4 Drama and Rebecca Holdsworth, Commissioning Editor, Drama and is produced by Element Pictures, a Fremantle company, UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group and Pageboy. Casting will be announced in due course.
‘The Rachel Incident‘ does not yet have a premiere date but will air on Channel 4 in the UK. If you want to keep track of this or any other show, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
