JK Rowling’s novel The Casual Vacancy is set to hit our TV screens in a joint BBC One and HBO adaptation. Published in 2012, The Casual Vacancy is Rowling’s first adult novel since the bestselling Harry Potter series and has sold over six million copies worldwide.
The miniseries will be divided into three hour long episodes, with production set to begin on 7 July in South West England. According to kdramastars.com, filming is taking place in Stroud, Gloucestershire at Archway School and Stroud Police station, with 200 students at the school as extras.
Starring the likes of Michael Gambon and Keeley Hawes, the adaptation boasts an impressive cast list of well-known actors and actresses, with further announcements to come. Gambon – *the second* Albus Dumbledore – will star as shop owner Howard Mollison, though perhaps he will have to put on a few pounds to convince the audience that he is indeed “an extravagantly obese man of sixty-four”. Other confirmed cast members include Julia McKenzie and Rufus Jones. Unfortunately, the cast list doesn’t as yet include any more former Harry Potter stars…
The Casual Vacancy is a story of conflict. It follows the events which unfold after the death of a councillor in the small, seemingly idyllic, town of Pagford. Largely based on an election for the late councillor’s empty seat, the novel deals with themes such as relationships, drugs, sex and growing up.
Rowling recently tried her hand at the crime genre, under the not-so-secret pseudonym of Robert Galbraith, and, after being exposed, sales of The Cuckoo’s Calling tripled. Her latest highly-anticipated novel The Silkworm, again written under the name Robert Galbraith, was released on 19 June. Rowling is due to make a guest appearance as Robert Galbraith at Harrogate Festival on 18 July in an In Conversation with bestselling crime writer Val McDermid. The event includes book signing after the discussion.
With Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows selling 11 million copies in the first 24 hours after its release and movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two taking £73 million at the box office, The Casual Vacancy miniseries clearly has a lot to live up to.