The Great Believers Adaptation: Everything We Know So Far About The New Project

Queer historical fiction is a genre of importance, and one that is being brought to screen with increasing frequency, which makes it no surprise that a The Great Believers adaptation is in the works.
 
Don’t forget to check out the masterlist of all the EWKSF adaptation posts here on Alison in Libraryland!
 
This page was updated: 8/22/23
 

About The Book:

A dazzling novel of friendship and redemption in the face of tragedy and loss set in 1980s Chicago and contemporary Paris.
 
In 1985, Yale Tishman, the development director for an art gallery in Chicago, is about to pull off an amazing coup, bringing in an extraordinary collection of 1920s paintings as a gift to the gallery. Yet as his career begins to flourish, the carnage of the AIDS epidemic grows around him. One by one, his friends are dying and after his friend Nico’s funeral, the virus circles closer and closer to Yale himself. Soon the only person he has left is Fiona, Nico’s little sister.
 
Thirty years later, Fiona is in Paris tracking down her estranged daughter who disappeared into a cult. While staying with an old friend, a famous photographer who documented the Chicago crisis, she finds herself finally grappling with the devastating ways AIDS affected her life and her relationship with her daughter. The two intertwining stories take us through the heartbreak of the eighties and the chaos of the modern world, as both Yale and Fiona struggle to find goodness in the midst of disaster.
 
bookshop.org // Amazon // Audiobook
 

Current Production Status:

The series is currently in the very early stages of development, there have been no updates since it was picked up in 2018.
 

The Great Believers Adaptation Timeline:

The book was first published in June 2018 to critical acclaim. It went on to win a Carnegie Medal as well as being a Pulitzer Prize finalist.
In December 2018 it was announced that Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions had optioned the rights with plans for a series adaptation.
 
There have been no further updates on the project since then.
 

Who Owns The Rights:

Paper Kite Productions acquired the rights with plans for a series adaptations.
Paper Kite Productions is Amy Poehler’s production company and has produced many other series including Russian Doll and Broad City, as well as other book adaptations like the Netflix movie Moxie.
 

Who Is Attached:

As of Summer 2023 there have been no casting announcements or names attached to the film.
Who would you like to see cast? Leave your dream casting in the comments!
 

Filming Locations:

With the project still in the very early stages of development there are currently no known filming locations yet.
 

Estimated Release:

There is currently no estimated release timeframe made public as of Summer 2023 for when this movie will come to our screens.
 

 

Previous mentions on AiLL:

This book has not been featured on Alison in Libraryland before.
 

Other Adaptations From This Author:

This is currently Rebecca Makkai’s only book in the process of being adapted.
 
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Happy Reading!!
~Alison

The Great Believers Adaptation: Everything We Know So Far About The New Project

 
Hi there! I’m Alison in Libraryland, and I’ll be here for all your book related needs. Many of you know me as the girl with the book recommendations. Don’t be shy! Ask me! If you’re looking for a good book or movie adaptation, let me help you find it. I’ll be here for all your literary needs. This is a book blog run on an obsession for shiny new books, worn-through old classics, and all attempts at moving those stories to the screen, just like this upcoming The Great Believers adaptation, based on the book by Rebecca Makkai.