Eden

As we head into fall television season, you might notice some familiar titles, not just because a few shows are returning for new seasons, but because they’re prequels, continuations or adaptations of well-known books or films — sometimes both.

The only guide you need for fall entertainment.

Hollywood has leaned into established IP this season, but if you’re seeking an original story, don’t fret, several of those are coming too. Viewers will have plenty to cozy up to, with a slew of series dropping around holidays — a perfect time to binge your new favorite watch.

‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story,’ Sept. 17 (Netflix)

Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden in Netflix’s “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.”

(Netflix)

Described as a “darkly comic spin on a Victorian-era murder,” the fourth installment of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s true-crime anthology chronicles the story of Sunday school teacher Lizzie Borden, who in 1893 was the prime suspect in the still unsolved ax murders of her father and stepmother inside their Fall River, Mass., home. The 32-year-old “spinster” was tried by an all-male jury who found her innocent of the gruesome crime. Their quaint view of women as meek, docile and powerless clearly worked in her favor. Ella Beatty plays the rage-filled, blood-spattered Borden in this eight-episode series. Charlie Hunnam, who appeared in the third installment of “Monster,” portrays her wealthy but ultimately unfortunate father Andrew Borden, and Rebecca Hall plays his second wife, Abby Borden. The drama reportedly includes the music of modern artists such as Kate Bush, while the trailer simply leans into the haunting Victorian-era nursery rhyme “Lizzie Borden took an axe …” — Lorraine Ali

‘Brothers,’ Sept. 23 (Apple TV)

Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey in Apple TV’s “Brothers.”

(Ryan Green / Apple TV)

Twelve years ago, after their chemistry lit up Season 1 of “True Detective,” stars Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey became Hollywood’s most beloved bromance. When Harrelson later told a tale in which McConaughey’s mother revealed she had known Harrelson’s father around the time McConaughey was conceived, it made a lot of hot-rumor sense. Also, apparently, a fine pitch for a series, with the two men playing fictionalized versions of themselves. After a family crisis, Harrelson flees with his wife and daughters to McConaughey’s Texas ranch where he hears a similar “I knew your father” story from Ma Mac (Holland Taylor). As he decides what to do, McConaughey decides to run for governor of Texas. The personal eccentricities of the two leads, along with their odd-couple vibe, provide most of the show’s humor, but the best reason to watch is Taylor, who shows both stars how it’s done, by stealing the show from under their feet. — Mary McNamara

‘American Hostage,’ Sept. 20 (MGM+)

Jon Hamm as Fred Heckman in MGM+’s “American Hostage.”

(Steve Ackerman / MGM+ / Sony Pictures Television)

Set in the 1970s, this anthology series based on a scripted podcast of the same name tells the true story of Fred Heckman, a respected radio journalist played by Jon Hamm, who also executive produces. Heckman, the news director of WIBC-AM in Indianapolis, is placed at the center of a story when hostage-taker Tony Kiritsis (Giovanni Ribisi) requests to be interviewed by the newsman as police attempt to negotiate the release of his hostage, mortgage broker Dick Hall (Kristoffer Polaha). The series contemplates topics like shady lending practices by financial institutions — something that will resonate deeply with today’s economy — and the ethics of placing oneself in a news story. Shawn Ryan (“The Shield,” “The Night Agent”) and Eileen Myers (“Big Love”) serve as co-showrunners and executive producers. — Maira Garcia

‘East of Eden,’ Oct. 1 (Netflix)

Mike Faist as Charles Trask, Christopher Abbott as Adam Trask and Florence Pugh as Cathy Ames in Netflix’s “East of Eden.”

(Netflix)

Zoe Kazan has established herself in the past several years as a versatile artist who impressed critics and audiences with her lead role in “Ruby Sparks” and her Emmy-nominated performance in HBO’s “Olive Kitteridge.” The spotlight is likely to get brighter with Netflix’s “East of Eden,” the latest adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic novel. A previous version of the novel was directed by Kazan’s grandfather Elia Kazan, and is best known as one of three films starring James Dean. Zoe Kazan is the writer and co-showrunner of the Netflix project, which stars Florence Pugh as anti-heroine Cathy Ames — a character sidelined in the 1955 film. Christopher Abbott (“Girls”) and Mike Faist (“Challengers”) co-star. — Greg Braxton

‘Below,’ Oct. 8 (Netflix)

Josh Hartnett as Calvin and Mackenzie Davis as Fonda in Netflix’s “Below.”

(Netflix)

Summer is over, but that doesn’t mean there can’t still be stories about killer creatures under the sea. Netflix’s “Below” joins the watery spectrum already inhabited by “Jaws,” “The Meg,” “47 Meters Down” and numerous other entries as it unveils its premise about a seaside town targeted by a mysterious monster. Josh Hartnett (“Trap”) stars as a fisherman and single father living in a small Newfoundland town who must find a way to protect his family and the community when an unidentified creature starts wreaking havoc. He joins forces with a marine researcher (Mackenzie Davis of “Station Eleven”) who informs him of the town’s mysterious history and buried secrets. — G.B.

‘Cupertino,’ Oct. 8 (CBS)

Rachel Keller as Olivia Siffre, Ella Stiller as Christy Palladino and Mike Colter as Michael Price in CBS’ “Cupertino.”

(Elizabeth Fisher / CBS)

Robert and Michelle King return to the network and territory of their acclaimed series “The Good Wife” with this Silicon Valley-based legal dramedy, replicating that show’s mix of quirk, current events and courtroom nail-biters. To continue the David vs. Goliath comparison the network has put out, it launches its stones at the brow of the tech industry, with Mike Colter and Rachel Keller as lawyers fired with bad cause who team up to defend the little guys from the big jerks. Ella Stiller is their ingenuous aide-de-camp, Busy Philipps a flamboyant investor and Renée Elise Goldsberry as an opposing counsel who has history with Colter. — Robert Lloyd

‘Avatar: Seven Havens,’ Oct. 9 (Paramount+)

Saheli Khan as Pavi, Dee Bradley Baker as Geet/Ruhi and Aishwarya “Aishu” Devan as Nisha in “Avatar: Seven Havens” on Paramount+.

(Paramount+)

When “Avatar: The Last Airbender” premiered over 20 years ago, it introduced audiences to a world inspired by Asian and Indigenous cultures, where certain people can manipulate elements through a martial arts-infused ability known as bending. It also helped show that an animated kids series can tackle weighty themes such as war, genocide, imperialism, sexism, propaganda and political corruption in a serialized story and be a hit. In the world of “Avatar,” there is one special bender who is the master of all four elements — water, earth, fire and air — and is tasked with maintaining balance in the world. Set after the events of “The Last Airbender” and “The Legend of Korra,” “Avatar: Seven Havens” follows the current incarnation of the Avatar, Pavi. Young Pavi and her twin sister, Nisha, live in a world that no longer sees the Avatar as humanity’s savior after it was devastated by a calamity. Pavi and her allies still have to figure out a way to save the world, though. Every Avatar seems to have to deal with problems caused or left unresolved by their predecessors. As a Korra fan, I’m curious to see what sort of legacy she ended up leaving behind. — Tracy Brown

‘VisionQuest,’ Oct. 14 (Disney+)

Paul Bettany in Marvel’s “VisionQuest” on Disney+.

(Marvel)

When we last saw Vision (Paul Bettany), the reconstructed synthezoid and former Avenger had just regained his memories — thanks to an assist from his magically created double — before flying off into the unknown at the end of “WandaVision.” Much has changed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since then, but I’m ready to dive back into this corner of the multiverse occupied by “WandaVision,” “Agatha All Along” and the upcoming “VisionQuest.” Capping off the TV trilogy, the new series will see Vision navigating life after “WandaVision” along with existential questions about his personhood and identity with the help of some friends in the form of other Marvel AI and robots, including Ultron (James Spader). Both “WandaVision” and “Agatha” were meditations on grief, trauma and motherhood, by way of sitcoms and magical escape rooms, respectively. I’m interested to see how this final installment will explore the patrilineal connection between Ultron, Vision and Tommy (Ruaridh Mollica), one of Wanda and Vision’s long lost twins who were magically created in “WandaVision.” Could the series tee up a full Maximoff family reunion? I hope so. — T.B.

‘Crystal Lake,’ Oct. 15 (Peacock)

Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees in Peacock’s “Crystal Lake.”

(Peacock)

Drew Barrymore made a fatal mistake in the opening scene of the 1996 horror film “Scream” when the creepy murderer on the telephone quizzed her about the name of the killer in the original “Friday the 13th.” When Barrymore answered “Jason Voorhees,” she was reminded that the original killer was actually Pamela Voorhees, Jason’s mother. Pamela is center stage in “Crystal Lake,” Peacock’s prequel to the bloody franchise launched in 1980. Linda Cardellini (“DTF St. Louis”) plays the grief-stricken mother who seeks revenge after her son drowns at a summer camp. There will be blood. — G.B.

‘The Diplomat’ Season 4, Oct. 15 (Netflix)

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler, Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler and Allison Janney as Grace Penn in Season 4 of “The Diplomat.”

(Netflix)

For those of us who stay ready for the Kate Wyler 2028 campaign, it’s time to lock in. The highly competent, intensely impulsive, deeply flawed and incredibly relatable political power player with unapologetically messy hair is back to clean up more backroom deals and betrayals, volatile international crises and unstable government leadership — all while managing a topsy-turvy marriage tangled up in it. The fourth season picks up directly after the Season 3 finale cliffhanger, where Kate (Keri Russell) learned that her husband, Vice President Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell), and President Grace Penn (Allison Janney) secretly conspired to steal a Russian nuclear weapon. The new season will explore the fallout and tension in domestic and international relationships, and the marital strife in between. Somehow, political chaos feels good in a show like this. — Yvonne Villarreal

‘Nocturne,’ Oct. 30 (Apple TV)

Stephen Graham and Liev Schreiber in Apple TV’s “Nocturne.”

(Dennis P. Mong Jr / Apple TV)

Stephen Graham plays the diabolically cunning serial killer Jurek Walter in “Nocturne,” a chilling psychological thriller that promises “Hannibal”-level creepiness (as in the film). The 10-episode drama stars Liev Schreiber as Jonah Lynn, a former soldier turned homicide detective who moves to a small town in western Pennsylvania after working the tough streets of Philadelphia. But the peace and quiet he hoped for is shattered when his family is targeted by Jurek. Lynn’s surrogate daughter, FBI Agent Saga Bauer (Zazie Beetz), steps in the fray, upping the stakes. Based on Lars Kepler’s crime novels “Lazarus” and “The Sandman,” the series also stars Bill Camp, Rory Culkin, Poorna Jagannathan, Chrissy Metz and Gary Carr. The cast alone should make “Nocturne” a killer thriller, but we’ll have to wait until October to see if it slays. — L.A.

‘Yellowjackets’ Season 4, Nov. 20 (Paramount+)

Sophie Thatcher as teen Natalie in the finale of Season 3 of “Yellowjackets.”

(Paramount+ with Showtime)

At the end of Season 3, “Yellowjackets” gave us an on-the-nose cliffhanger: We see young Natalie (Sophie Thatcher) reach a cliff, satellite phone in hand, as Aerosmith’s “Livin’ on the Edge” plays. She screams into the receiver, “Can anyone hear me?” Response: “I can hear you.” Over the past three seasons, the Yellowjackets, the New Jersey girls soccer team lost in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash, have been trying to survive harsh weather, a lack of food and medical care — and one another. It appears we’ll finally get to see them rescued, based on the recent trailer for the new season, as well as the aftermath. The series, created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, was originally pitched as a five-season arc, but they announced last year that Season 4 would be the last. The dual timelines in the show, where we see the survivors as teenagers and adults, have felt disconnected at times, but let’s hope this season finally offers clarity. — M.G.

‘Dig,’ Nov. 23 (Peacock)

Hugh Laurie as Neville and Amy Poehler as Elise in Peacock’s “Dig.”

(Colleen Hayes / Peacock)

A new comedy series starring Amy Poehler that she co-created with “Parks & Recreation” executive producer Michael Schur? Sign me up! The workplace at the center of “Dig” is an excavation site in Greece, where Poehler’s Elise is among a team of archaeologists that unearths a rare artifact. According to the logline, this discovery kicks off an “adventure of a lifetime” — and I’m curious what that might mean for people whose careers presumably involve carefully sifting through old dirt all day. The show also stars Hugh Laurie as Neville, a British archaeology professor, as well as Geraldine Viswanathan, Antonia Thomas and Fina Strazza. The series is based on Kate Myers’ novel “Excavations,” and in the book, the four central women have their own issues and hang-ups and don’t really get along, at least initially. If there’s anyone I trust to mine comedy gold with that setup, it’s Poehler and Schur, who is co-showrunning with J.J. Philbin. — T.B.

‘Blade Runner 2099,’ Nov. 25 (Prime Video)

Hunter Schafer as Cora in Prime Video’s “Blade Runner 2099.”

(Clay Enos / Prime)

Having slept on the franchise’s previous sequel, “Blade Runner 2049,” I find myself quite excited by the prospect of this tale of biological and synthetic life forms in a smoggy, next-millennium Los Angeles, not least (and likely most) because Michelle Yeoh stars in it. Yeoh plays an aging replicant detective in search of rogue replicants — here, in a “Planet of the Apes” style twist, the world has turned upside down, with the artificial life forms in power and the people powerless. Hunter Schafer plays Yeoh’s partner, a human masquerading as a replicant. (As to L.A., you will not recognize the old place, which in any case was created in Prague and Barcelona.) — R.L.

‘The Hunting Wives’ Season 2, Nov. 26 (Netflix)

Malin Akerman as Margo, left, and Brittany Snow as Sophie in Season 2 of “The Hunting Wives.”

(Netflix)

For those who are watching the show for the plot, get ready to yeehaw about all the melodrama that’s about to hit your screen. Following its massive breakout success on Netflix, the series about East Texas socialites is back for a twisty and steamy eight-episode second season that will no doubt launch a heavy helping of memes, GIFs and explicit fanfics. For the uninitiated, the series based on May Cobb’s bestselling novel follows Sophie (Brittany Snow), a married East Coast liberal who moves to a wealthy Texas town and immediately becomes infatuated with Margo (Malin Akerman), the local queen bee of a clique of conservative women who have a knack for behaving badly. Their toxic, lusty friendship and the show’s crime mystery subplots had viewers hooked. After the chaotic events of the Season 1 finale, the new episodes pick up with Sophie and Margo on the outs but pulled back into another dangerous game of cat and mouse that will make their situationship all the more complicated and angsty. But fear not, Margo’s wig remains a comforting presence through it all. — Y.V.

‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,’ Dec. 25 (HBO)

Ron (Alastair Stout), Harry (Dominic McLaughlin) and Hermione (Arabella Stanton) in HBO’s “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.”

(Aidan Monaghan / HBO)

In the U.K., Christmas Day telly is a much bigger deal than it is in the U.S., which may be why HBO decided to launch its new “Harry Potter” series, beginning with the U.K.-titled eight-episode “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” on Dec. 25. “Highly anticipated” doesn’t even begin to cover it; a quarter century since the film versions began lighting up the box office, the story of “the boy who lived” continues to entrance fans old and new. Starring newcomers Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout as Ronald Weasley and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, the series promises a richer, more detailed adaptation of the books, along with a more contemporary feel. With John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Nick Frost as Hagrid and Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, the cast is just as formidable and star-studded as the films. And with a reported $58-million price tag, the production values should burn just as brightly, especially at Christmas. — M.M.

‘North of North’ Season 2, Fall 2026 (Netflix)

Anna Lambe as Siaja in Season 2 of “North of North” on Netflix.

(Netflix)

No news regarding the coming fall season has made me happier than the return of this sunny, aspirational Indigenous comedy, set in a small town among the Inuit people in Nunavut, Canada’s northernmost territory. A luminous Anna Lambe plays Siaja, who in the first season went a long way toward finding herself in a life bounded by a narcissist husband (estranged, but always around), a once-difficult mother, a rambunctious child, a new love interest, a surprising father, a capricious yet not uncaring boss (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and a mythological sea spirit — in other words, lots to go on in a second season. (For even more Canadian content: “Kids in the Hall” alum Bruce McCulloch joins the cast as a first-aid instructor.) — R.L.

‘Pride and Prejudice,’ fall 2026 (Netflix)

Lizzie (Emma Corrin), Jane (Freya Mavor), Mrs. Bennet (Olivia Colman), Lydia (Rhea Norwood), Mary (Hopey Parish) and Kitty (Hollie Avery) in Netflix’s “Pride and Prejudice.”

(Ludovic Robert / Netflix)

Every generation gets its own Mr. Darcy. Experiencing Jane Austen’s most famous work — whether on the page or on the screen — is a cultural rite of passage for many young women. The 1995 BBC miniseries starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, and the 2005 film starring Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen, are the two definitive, most popular screen adaptations of the classic novel, often drawing fierce debate from enthusiasts about which is better. (Sorry, but that misty sunrise walk by MacFadyen’s Mr. Darcy changed lives — namely, mine — and will always give the 2005 version a slight edge in my eyes.) Now, the classic novel is getting its streaming-era adaptation. Written by bestselling author Dolly Alderton (“Good Material”), the six-part limited series promises to be a faithful adaptation. Emma Corrin (“The Crown”) and Jack Lowden (“Slow Horses”) take the mantel as the original and ultimate enemies-to-lovers couple, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Will it live up to its predecessors? Will it capture Austen’s witty text and unforgettable scenes of yearning? I don’t know. But I’m going to watch it anyway because — I mean, come on — it’s “Pride and Prejudice” and I’m just a girl who’s always on the lookout for slow-burn tension and hand-flex close-ups. I’m preparing myself now for the hours of sleep I’ll lose getting sucked into the TikTok discourse about it. — Y.V.

The acclaimed actor stars as the sweet-natured Adam Trask in Netflix’s East of Eden

East of Eden viewers are wondering where they’ve seen one of the show’s stars before.

The Netflix series is an adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel of the same name and stars a glittering cast including Florence Pugh as literary legend Cathy Ames, while Mike Faist and Christopher Abbott portray the brothers who fall for her, Charles and Adam Trask.

Netflix’s synopsis reads: “This fresh interpretation of Steinbeck’s masterpiece will explore the multigenerational saga of the Trask family, focusing new attention on its indelible antihero, Cathy Ames.”

The seven-part series arrived on the streaming platform just last week and it is currently at the top of Netflix’s most-watched TV series in the UK list. As fans dive in to the episodes, many have wondered about one particular cast member.

Christopher Abbott plays the sweet-natured Adam Trask who shows kindness to Cathy Ames when she appears bloodied and beaten at the door of his home, shared with his brother, who at first is much more sceptical of their new arrival. Adam nurses her back to health and they go on to marry.

Even before he whisks her away to California however, cracks have started to show. While it is a place he has always dreamed of, Cathy does not share that dream and she makes no secret of it.

Google searches for Christopher Abbott’s past movies and TV shows have soared since East of Eden’s debut, so where might viewers know the star from?

What films and TV shows has Christopher Abbott been in?

His breakout role was as Charlie Dattolo in the HBO series Girls. He was a recurring cast member, portraying the kind boyfriend of Marnie Michaels (Allison Williams). More recently he has had leading roles in Poor Things alongside Emma Stone, 2025 horror film Wolf Man and 2022 comedy-thriller, Sanctuary.

He is no stranger to literary adaptations and previously took the lead role of Yossarian in Catch-22, a TV series based on the Joseph Heller novel of the same name.

Discussing his role as Adam, Christopher told Netflix’s Tudum: “He’s a character that has lived a lot of different lives, and he’s sort of changed his personality throughout it.

“He starts off, like, hopping trains and living like a vagabond and stealing stuff and then becomes a different human when he has son. It’s a big epic arc to track.”

East of Eden is now streaming on Netflix.

When Zoe Kazan learned she was going to adapt “East of Eden,” she knew it meant she’d be destroying a copy of John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel with scribbled notes in different colors, highlights and earmarked edges. So she ordered a used one from Powell’s Books — it has somebody else’s last name written on it, she points out.

“It’s a treasure to me,” she said during a recent video call from London.

Steinbeck’s Cain and Abel-inspired novel follows two families across decades as a way to explore good and evil, legacy, free will and what makes a person. Driving many of the biblical parallels are two sets of siblings — half-brothers, Charles and Adam Trask, and later, Adam’s fraternal twin sons Cal and Aron — each competing for their father’s attention and love. Disrupting their lives is an enigmatic woman named Cathy Ames, who Adam marries and who gives birth to Cal and Aron.

The book-to-screen adaptation has been Kazan’s passion project. And for a tale of familial legacy, she had her own to confront — in 1955, her grandfather Elia Kazan directed a film version that starred James Dean and covered the last third of the book, which focused on Cal and Aron. Zoe Kazan’s interest in the story took shape decades later when, as a teenager, she discovered the book.

She found herself drawn to Cathy, its famous antagonist.

“I felt repelled by her, attracted by her, curious about her. I felt empathy. I felt hared. I felt love. I felt all these things,” Kazan said. “I had never read anybody like her. I just remember, every few pages, wanting to stop and read aloud to someone the things that she was doing or [the things] that someone was saying about her.”

She also felt the pull of the story’s examination of intergenerational cycles and familial legacy.

“It feels a little bit like a chicken-and-egg situation. Which came first: Was I drawn to this book because of its intergenerational aspects or did this book teach me to think about intergenerational aspects?”

Now streaming on Netflix, the seven-part adaptation Kazan shepherded — alongside co-showrunner Jeb Stuart — covers more ground of the multigenerational saga than her grandfather’s film. This new version also centers Cathy.

Here’s what Kazan told us about her vision.

East of Eden on Netflix’s creator Zoe Kazan follows in her grandfather’s footsteps who directed the 1955 film adaptation.

East of Eden is being hailed as a faithful and “captivating” watch with fans especially impressed by its leading lady.

John Steinbeck’s 1950s classic novel East of Eden has been resurrected once again but this time for Netflix fans, following the story of fierce Cathy Ames (played by Florence Pugh).

Set in the early 1900s, anti-heroine Cathy stops at nothing to get rich and in the process, drives a rift between two brothers that “ignites a saga that unfolds across two generations”.

The seven-part period drama was released in full today, Thursday, October 1, with fans quickly flocking to social media to share their thoughts. And it didn’t take long for users to make a major prediction about Florence Pugh’s future.

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With so many viewers impressed by the 30-year-old’s performance, fans believe she is in the running for an Emmy Award.

“Florence Pugh will definitely get an Emmy for East of Eden, she has out done herself by miles”, someone praised on X. A second agreed: “Just finished watching east of eden and the Emmy campaign for Florence Pugh starts right now.”

“Florence Pugh getting rave reviews for East Of Eden, oh we are sweeping the awards season all the way to that Emmy!”, a third exclaimed.

As another viewer remarked: “People were claiming that Florence Pugh is ruining her career with a Netflix show but the critics are raving about her and she’s most definitely getting an Emmy for this performance.”

Ahead of its release, Pugh opened up to Tudum about the challenges of creating an “epic adventure” for just seven episodes.

“As a performer, it was a really big step up into how I was going to approach this role and shooting this schedule because I had no time in between.

“I’m not only talking about heavy subject matter in the scenes, but the language is from a different era, which has a different rhythm.

“It meant that I had to approach this role in a way that I’d never done before.”

East of Eden is available to watch on Netflix.

Hollywood is filled with book-to-screen adaptations that have ignited grumbling and spirited debates. Even before its release, Zoe Kazan’s interpretation of John Steinbeck’s sprawling 1952 masterwork, “East of Eden,” roused passionate opinions from loyalists of the text on social media.

Much of the discourse surrounds Kazan’s creative choice in how to portray the book’s infamous antagonist, Cathy Ames, in Netflix’s seven-episode limited series out Thursday.

Steinbeck’s multigenerational saga ruminates on family, the power of choice and the nature of good and evil — deeply exploring the biblical stories of Cain and Abel and the fall of Adam and Eve — through the intertwined destinies of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons. Cathy (later known as Kate) functions as a chilling, destructive force in the saga.

Kazan pared down much of the Hamilton family’s story for the show and centered Cathy (Florence Pugh), whose arrival alters the lives of the Trask brothers, Adam (Christopher Abbott) and Charles (Mike Faist). In doing so, Kazan dared to humanize the character who has been considered one of literature’s most definitive symbols of pure evil, described by Steinbeck to be a “psychic monster” born without a conscience or kindness.

“I’m trying to protect my mental health by not being too much online,” Kazan said in a video call from London on a recent weekday. “I do think it is not surprising to me that this character brings up a lot of strong feelings for people … I’m excited to see what people think once they actually see what we have made and aren’t just anticipating something.”

Mike Faist as Charles Trask, Christopher Abbott as Adam Trask and Florence Pugh as Cathy Ames in Netflix’s “East of Eden.”

(Netflix)

When Kazan, an actor who has expanded her creative footprint behind the camera, first pitched the series in 2019 and was asked about which actor she envisioned as Cathy, she replied: “I have one.” She had seen Pugh in “Midsommar,” “Lady Macbeth” and “Little Women,” marveling at how the actor’s ultra femininity lived alongside her masculine energy.

“The range on that girl … I was like, if anybody can do that, they can play Cathy,” Kazan says. “It allowed me to write Cathy as complicated and mysterious [as I wanted] and with so much shadow and light.”

When it came to Adam and Charles, Kazan knew Abbott and Faist could depict the psychological nuance beyond the binaries of the nature versus nurture debate: “I wanted an Adam where you felt what his true nature was and the nature that his father had pushed him into … and I knew we needed that in Charles as well.”

Adapting a classic is hardly a simple endeavor, particularly one that has been done before. That Kazan would choose “East of Eden,” which unpacks legacy and generational shadows is apt: Her grandfather, Elia Kazan, famously directed the 1955 film version starring James Dean. The actors of the Netflix series are eager for viewers to see her vision come to life.

“When you do an adaptation of a book, especially a seminal American novel, no matter what, you’re always going to be up against it because … whenever somebody reads a book, the budget in their heads is unlimited,” Abbott says. “I think this is such a great adaption in its own right.”

Pugh adds: “I’m excited for people to do the stuff that I’m doing now, which is [to say], ‘Oh my God, let’s read this and see how it fits against what I’ve got in my head.’”

Over a video call together, Pugh, Abbott and Faist reflected on their journey to adapting Steinbeck’s epic story, including their first experiences with it and filling in the shades of these characters who remain timeless allegories of the human condition. This conversation, which contains spoilers, has been edited for clarity and length.

Florence Pugh, left, Christopher Abbott and Mike Faist take on some of literature’s most indelible characters — Cathy Ames, Adam Trask and Charles Trask — made famous in John Steinbeck’s classic “East of Eden.” (Photographs by Sophia Spring / For The Times)

When did you first encounter the book?

Faist: My first encounter with the story was the James Dean, Elia Kazan film. That was a movie that I watched, especially when I first moved to New York and wanted to be an actor. It wasn’t until Zoe and Florence asked if I’d be interested in doing this, that I picked up the book.

Pugh: I want to say maybe my early 20s, I read the book. I only watched the movie recently to prepare myself for these kind of conversations. I’m rereading the book now while we’re heading into press, just so I can like fine-tune what I thought I knew … there’s so much love that’s being breathed into every single sentence of every chapter [in this adaptation], and that is solely down to Zoe’s fantastic brain and her ability to want to dig deeper.

Abbott: A lot of my favorite books I’ve picked up and put down numerous times before actually plowing through it — that was the case here until Zoe approached me about doing it. I was like, “Well, this is a perfect excuse to finally [finish].”

This adaptation lit up social media early on for centering Cathy. She is such a polarizing figure. Some see her solely as an evil monster. Some argue there is more nuance to what’s driving her actions. Florence, how do you see her?

Pugh: It’s tricky because I know I’m gonna get asked this again and again, and I guess I’m still trying to figure out how to word it without totally pissing people off. I love finding characters that people automatically think are villains and trying to find a way for you to love them — it’s my favorite thing to do.

I read these episodes, and I was listening to Zoe and how she was wanting this to come from Cathy’s perspective, how Cathy was her hero and how she’s just been championing Cathy ever since she first read the book — that was so f— exciting to know that we’re not gonna just point the finger and say that she’s evil. It is my job to do my skills as good as possible so that I can argue in defense of them. I believe that I can argue for her, which is terrifying but also really cool. I care for her deeply. I understand where she went and why. Does she do some terrible things? Absolutely. Is she a product of the situation that she grew up in? Totally. You can’t get raped as a child and and you be totally fine for the rest of your life.

Florence Pugh as Cathy Ames. She hopes the adaptation prompts curiosity: “I’m excited for people to do the stuff that I’m doing now, which is [to say], ‘Oh my God, let’s read this and see how it fits against what I’ve got in my head.’”

(Netflix)

That detail was not explicitly stated in the book. What were your conversations with Zoe about it?

Pugh: That’s why we ended up choosing the way that we explained it and the way that we showed it — that little girl is so tiny you can’t even imagine anything bad happening to her, and the fact that she’s holding “Alice in Wonderland,” [in her mind], there’s so many through lines through Cathy and Kate’s life that all come back to that moment. You don’t need to do much. Everybody has the sinking feeling of what might happen to a vulnerable child in that situation. In the book, I think it’s constantly playing with the themes of can we trust her? Is she already a monster as a child?

What Zoe has done is made her a real human, and has given her cause and has given her time to understand. That moment that is alluded [to in the book ] — if Cathy asked the boys to tie her down, and whatever it is that they were doing to her — it’s no longer alluded [in the series]. That [assault] happened, but maybe people didn’t believe her.

Mike, what were you interested in excavating with Charles, this Cain archetype who’s tormented by rejection and jealousy?

Faist: What is amazing about this story is — and it’s the entire through line of the entire novel — is this idea of timshel. What happens in a person’s life, and the burdens that they carry, then the choices they make, and every single moment as they continue to live it. Charles jumped out at me. There was just something about him that I was very drawn to — and along with that pull, there’s this feeling of dread, where you say, “Oh God, I can’t believe that I’m about to jump in and do this thing.” You end up surrendering yourself to it. It is scary and deeply exciting.

Abbott: I don’t have a brother. You forget too that they’re half brothers and what that dynamic is like, what kind of Freudian s— pops up. I think the through line for Mike and I, because there’s a lot of conflict there, that it always comes from a place from love. The letters, as they [Charles and Adam] get older, that are written or the letters that he starts to write and doesn’t send, when there is hate between them, it’s because they love each other so much. Otherwise, it would just be indifference. A lot of that happens in the things that are unsaid.

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1. Mike Faist as Charles Trask. (Netflix) 2. Christopher Abbott as Adam Trask. He found the sibling relationship intriguing: “I don’t have a brother. You forget too that they’re half brothers and what that dynamic is like, what kind of Freudian s— pops up.” (Kirsty Griffin / Netflix)

When Zoe approached you, Chris, to play Adam, you questioned whether she actually meant for you to be Charles?

Abbott: I’m just used to being typecast, so I thought she made a mistake. Zoe’s mentioned this idea of masculine and feminine energy — what one presents and what one actually holds, and the old switcheroos of that. The very first email, I was like, “Oh, are you sure?” But I was excited to play with all the nuance of and the layers of what this is. I had seen the movie before, and it [covers] only the last 100 or so pages. It’s really gratifying to play a part where you get to see someone’s whole life and how this guy goes from being this wanderer, drifter to this to stoic, depressed, rigid older man.

What moment between these characters were you most eager or nervous to depict?

Faist: The scene that I reflect back on the most, that actively had the biggest impact on me, is the scene between Cathy and Charles, where she comes into his room and the two of them share this intimacy together. We had talked about what we were wanting to do, then on the day, none of it was really working. I remember Florence had this really specific thing she wanted to bring to the scene. And it was really powerful — there’s these very rare moments when you genuinely feel someone’s objective actively working against your own. [Pugh makes a quizzical face.] No, it’s good! It creates this friction and this tension that does exist and does live.

Abbott: That was your favorite, huh?

Faist: I’m sorry, Chris! That one was just such a visceral feeling of, I know what my character wants in this thing, and her character is very much wanting the exact opposite and the literal clash of that that moment and the feeling of that — I’ll never forget that.

Pugh: It’s such an important scene to get right because it literally is the ending moment of those two; it added so much pressure on the day of shooting. It’s actually really hard when you’re trying to do a sex scene that’s consensual, but it’s definitely not at the right time. The coolest thing about it is it wasn’t working and we had to push everyone out. Everyone was whispering and everyone was trying to figure out what they were comfortable with us doing and, eventually, Mike and I were just like: Right. Done.

Florence Pugh, with Christopher Abbott, left, and Mike Faist, says “East of Eden” endures because “every single one of these characters is struggling to survive realistically.”

(Sophia Spring / For The Times)

Chris, you have the daunting task of, in the closing moments of the series, delivering the word that’s the thrust of the whole story —timshel.

Abbott: I think that was the last scene I shot. I can’t say I was being lazy, but the character had a stroke so he was laying there. You just gotta listen [in a moment like that]. Hoon [Lee, who plays Lee] is reading from the Bible. You take in the room. I nailed it in one. [Pugh and Faist laugh.]

People have deep feelings about “East of Eden.” And it seems to have had a real resurgence recently, even outside of curiosity about this adaptation. Why do you think that is?

Abbott: That’s a big, existential [thing to think about]. There’s a ton of themes in the book that are relevant: displacement, family, love. The themes in the book aren’t specific to the time period. All great works are that.

Pugh: It’s also about generational trauma and change in healing. One of the things I recognized immediately when I started rereading the book months ago, the first few pages about the Salinas Valley describe very quickly that this place is about growth, change and moving on. What I’ve taken from our adaption of Cathy and her generational trauma and what she’s doing to her kids is that not everybody is going to get it right. The reason I think why people keep picking it back up is every single one of these characters is struggling to survive realistically, and they are all making decisions that affect and domino-effect other people around them. Us learning about how we could have done better will always be relevant. And especially with America, and what we’re watching in terms of its constant battle against racism and immigration. It’s relevant to life and to our lives.

John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel “East of Eden,” an Oprah’s Book Club Selection in 2003, is a retelling, or actually two retellings, of the Cain and Abel story, first in Connecticut with half-brothers Charles and Adam Trask, and then in the author’s native Salinas Valley with Adam’s fraternal twin sons, Cal and Aron, in each case competing with one another for their father’s love. Not wanting you to miss his meaning, if you haven’t already guessed by the title, Steinbeck has a character read the entire passage from Genesis.

The stories, which together run from the late 19th century through World War I, are connected by a woman named Cathy Ames, whom Adam marries and who gives birth to Cal and Aron — which I suppose makes her the Eve in this household, though that’s not a theological road Steinbeck chose to really explore.

In 1955, Elia Kazan directed a film version, a color-mad Cinemascope melodrama that told only the Cal and Aron part of the story; significantly, it was the film debut of James Dean and so will live forever. Writing in The Times in 2005, Kenneth Turan called it “not only one of Kazan’s richest films and Dean’s first significant role” but “arguably the actor’s best performance.”

Kazan’s granddaughter Zoe Kazan has written the screenplay and worked with Jeb Stuart as co-showrunners for a new “East of Eden” adaptation, a seven-episode miniseries debuting Thursday on Netflix. Though it omits a sizable chunk of what is after all a very long book, it takes its chronology whole, putting Cathy front and center in the publicity and in the show, owing largely to Florence Pugh‘s performance as its most dynamic character.

Kazan begins her telling with a badly beaten woman dragging herself through the night as a female voice delivers an edited, elaborated version of the author’s thoughts on difference. (It is a book brimming with thoughts.) “I believe there are monsters born in this world to human parents … A child may be born perfect of body but without kindness or the potential of conscience. Still, you must not forget, everyone is normal to himself. And to a monster, the norm must seem monstrous.” Given that the novel’s narrator is Steinbeck, it’s hard to say just who the “I” is here, but I assume the gender swap has something to do with wanting to literally give this version a female voice.

The monster is Cathy, crawling to the porch of the farmhouse occupied by Charles (Mike Faist), who thinks they should call the sheriff, and Adam (Christopher Abbott), who is compelled to care for her. Close your eyes if you don’t want to know anything more about this 73-year-old bestseller, but Cathy has already possibly driven a man to suicide and definitely burned down her house with her parents locked inside. She was beaten up by her former pimp, whose mistress she’d become and from whom she was stealing. You may be thinking “sociopath.”

The series backs up 25 years to a Connecticut farm where father Cyrus Trask (Tracy Letts), a peg-legged Civil War veteran, rejects Charles’ gift of a new knife in favor of Adam’s present of a stray puppy, creating a long trail of jealousy. He’ll later pack pacifistic Adam off to the army (because, he says, he loves him better), with Charles unhappily constrained to stay and work the farm (though he proves good at it). After years in service and living in hobo jungles, Adam returns home.

Standout performers include Hoon Lee as Lee, left, and Ciarán Hinds as Samuel Hamilton.

(Kirsty Griffin / Netflix)

Cathy crawls to their doorstep; Charles sees through her, which will earn him her respect, but Adam falls for her, marries her and drags her west to California, where she doesn’t want to go and doesn’t plan to stay. (She’s quite upfront about this, but Adam is a poor listener.) She gives birth to Cal (younger, Bodhi Aisher; older, Joseph Zada), who will grow up to wonder if he’s bad, and Aron (younger, Jonah Wren Phillips; older, Joe Anders), whom everyone thinks is good, and returns to the life of a prostitute, which suits her fine. And that is probably enough plot for me to relate.

Pugh impressively represents Cathy’s outward self through successive stages; she’s not a character born to develop, though she will have various crises to navigate, and the actor imbues her with as much nuance as the part allows. She’s the main reason to watch, though there are standout performances from Hoon Lee as Lee, a philosophical, intellectual, American-born Chinese man who works for Adam and becomes a kind of surrogate mother to Cal and Aron; and from Ciarán Hinds as Samuel Hamilton, a jovial Irishman, virtually the only remnant of the novel’s Hamiltons, who stand in for Steinbeck’s own family. Faist does a lot with the taciturn, perceptive Charles. Martha Plimpton, never not great, plays Faye, a madam for whom Cathy works; and Zoe Phillips makes an impression in her scattered scenes as Abra Bacon, who’ll date Aron but feels connected to Cal.

Kazan and Stuart do cover all the main plot points and themes — good and evil, love and jealousy, inherited character and (the big one) the possibility of change. Unavoidably the text has been chopped and channeled, with some swapping of parts, bits of narration screwed into dialogue and events described in a paragraph blown out into scenes. Certain thoughts inside Cathy’s head have been made concrete.

The adapters don’t add too much material of their own, Steinbeck having provided a wealth of character descriptions, backstory, philosophical rumination and social criticism for every occasion, but here and there they’ll stress a point or provide something new in order to make sense of Cathy. But they don’t overdo it. (Steinbeck, declaring her unknowable, cuts her a lot of slack, walking back his earlier “monster” comments: “Who knows but that she tried to tell someone or everyone what she was like and could not, for lack of a common language. It is easy to say she was bad, but there is little meaning unless we know why.”) Oddly, the Cain and Abel elements in the Cal and Aron story, which launched Dean’s career, don’t really register.

If nothing else, the miniseries reminds us that adaptation is a difficult job that grows harder the more complex and celebrated the original text, and the more necessary it is to honor it. (This is why pulp fiction has produced so many memorable movies.) Things will always be lost in translation, not least from the pictures in your head to the pictures on the screen. If you’re going to film a literary monument, and a period piece to boot, you’re going to have to spend some money.

But the production here betrays its economy, and the direction, by Garth Davis and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, remains earthbound, held down by mournful strings and devoid of color. The New Zealand landscape does echo the rolling hills of Central California, in a dry season, but it’s a dreary vision, hardly the paradise of Steinbeck’s memory, book or metaphor.

THE enormous new Eden Project being built in the seaside town of Morecambe is officially underway.

Work started last month on the £100million project and the public will be able to visit part of it as soon as next year with a full opening expected in 2028.

The first part to open will be the Bring Me Sunshine Garden, it will have tall Austrian pine trees, a natural flower meadow and a solar-powered, shell-shaped outdoor pavilion and classroom that harvests rainwater.

The garden was shown off at the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show and will open as a permanent part of the Eden Project in Morecambe in spring 2027 – it will be completely free to visit.

The rest of the Eden Project Morecambe is scheduled to fully open in winter 2028.

The biggest part that has been unveiled so far is called ‘The Elder Tree‘ – it will be 65 feet tall and will guide visitors on a journey from its roots to the trunk hollows.

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It is set to show people how to “reconnect” with and “restore nature”.

There will be two very different experiences called The Realm of the Sun and The Realm of the Moon.

The Realm of the Sun has been described as “a bright, lush landscape of the near future — a place where humanity has rediscovered how to repair and re-engage with the broken rhythms of the natural world”.

The Realm of the Moon is as an immersive but “darker” space with a hyper-real rockpool which will have sped-up cycles of tides.

The two realms, will be linked by an area called Metronome, where visitors will buy their entry tickets.

It was revealed today that the Pears Foundation has gifted the attraction £2.5million towards the Eden Project’s habitations zone.

This area of the attraction has been described as Eden Project Morecambe’s “signature experience”.

Inside will be four theatrical spaces, named High Street, Market, Farm and Town Square with immersive activities in each.

Eden Project Morecambe said the activities will “reflect people’s daily lives, sharing how local place-based adaptation and world-wide innovation can collide to help us adopt approaches that can positively impact our planet”.

There will be a 750-capacity Tidal Theatre, a 300-capacity restaurant and a shop at the attraction as well.

Other details that have been previously mentioned include hanging plants, mini gardens, a multi-sensory area, and a waterfall.

There’s plenty to around Morecambe too like the Happy Mount Park, the Eric Morecambe Statue and The Smugglers Den pub all rated highly on TripAdvisor.

Morecambe has a pretty five-mile English beach too which in 2024 was named one of UK’s most beautiful in a list of 37 by Time Out.

For any TV fans, you might recognise Morecambe as the backdrop of ITV drama, The Bay.

Filming locations include Sunderland Point, a village of 30 houses at the end of a tidal causeway and the Stone Jetty which is all that remains of the original Victorian harbour.