*FX is moving forward with its adaptation of Octavia Butler’s classic sci-fi novel “Kindred,” starring newcomer Mallori Johnson.
“Kindred” follows Dana, an aspiring writer who has uprooted her life of familial obligation and moved to Los Angeles to claim a future that for once feels all her own. Before she can get settled into her new home, however, she finds herself being violently pulled back and forth in time to a 19th-century plantation with which she and her family are most surprisingly and intimately linked. An interracial romance threads through her past and present, and the clock is ticking as she struggles to confront the secrets she never knew ran through her blood.
We previously reported that playwright and “Watchmen” veteran Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is adapting the book.
READ MORE: Octavia Butler’s Classic ‘Kindred’ Headed to FX Under ‘Zola’ Helmer Janicza Bravo (Video)
“Branden Jacobs-Jenkins has done a phenomenal job of adapting “Kindred” for FX and honoring the legacy and timeless value of Octavia Butler’s groundbreaking novel,” said Nick Grad, president original programming at FX. “The pilot directed by Janicza Bravo is brilliant, and we can’t wait to resume production with this incredibly talented and dedicated cast.”
FX ordered a pilot for “Kindred” in March 2021. Johnson will star in the series along with Micah Stock, Ryan Kwanten, Gayle Rankin, Austin Smith, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy and David Alexander Kaplan.
Per THR, Jacobs-Jenkins will serve as showrunner on the series and executive produce along with Courtney Lee-Mitchell, who holds the rights to the novel.
