Marissa Stapley’s 2021 novel, Lucky, is officially becoming a series for Apple TV+! The book is the first of Marissa Stapley’s bibliography to receive the television treatment. The news was announced by the industry site Deadline this month after Hello Sunshine’s announcement.
Lucky Novel
The novel follows a young scam artist, Lucky. After pulling off her biggest scam yet, Lucky sets out to start a new life with a new name. With the help of her boyfriend and father, and a million dollars in her pocket in the form of a fake lottery ticket, Lucky thinks that nothing can go wrong. However, when trouble arises around the ticket, Lucky must avoid arrest along with finding new money.
Lucky is the fourth novel penned by Marissa Stapley. Followed by The Last Resort, Things To Do When It’s Raining, and Mating for Life. Stapley’s novel gained popularity when, in December of 2021, it was added to Reese Witherspoon’s book club. Reese Witherspoon’s book club has been running since May 2017. While talking with Deadline, the actress shared, “Reese’s Book Club began with the goal of deepening connections – to the stories, to the storytellers, and to the community we are building. It is incredibly rewarding to be able to amplify these female-centric stories and their authors, see our community connect with them, then see them take on a whole new life on screen.” Witherspoon has– since the start of the club in 2017– developed many of the book club’s books into films or series through her production company: Hello Sunshine.
Lucky has been the latest in the Hello Sunshine filmography, joining the ranks of The Morning Show, Tiny Beautiful Things, and Daisy Jones and the Six.
Cast
Anya Taylor-Joy has been signed to the project, headlining the production as Lucky. Lucky marks her return to television after her acclaimed Netflix series, The Queen’s Gambit. As the production is still very early on, there are no other casting announcements at this time; however, Anya Taylor-Joy being part of this project shows true promise. As an actress, Taylor-Joy has shocked audiences with great performance after a great performance.
Taylor-Joy voiced her appreciation after the news was released, saying to Deadline, “Hello Sunshine continues to do a fantastic job of championing women’s voices and I’m thrilled to be joining the team alongside Jonathan, Cassie, and Apple TV+ to bring Lucky to life.”
Crew
Anya Taylor-Joy will also be joining the crew side of things as she is tied to the project as an executive producer as well as an actress. As for showrunners, Cassie Papas and Jonathan Tropper are signed on as co-showrunners. Together the pair have a series of incredible productions under their belt. Jonathan Tropper was the writer for the 2022 sci-fi film The Adam Project and the Netflix original film Kodachrome. Cassie Papas is an Apple TV sweetheart, as she was a writer and producer for Apple Tv’s Silo from 2023 to this year.
Reese Witherspoon praised this team in a conversation with Deadline, sharing, “We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Apple TV+ and the incomparable Anya Taylor-Joy, plus our brilliant creator Jonathan Tropper and his wonderful co-showrunner Cassie Pappas, to bring this compelling series – based on Marissa Stapley’s fantastic novel – to audiences around the world.”
Future of the Project
Not much is known about the project presently. Since the early stages of development, Lucky has been seeking out individuals to fill roles in terms of production. Because of Hello Sunshine’s previous success, Lucky is expected to have a similar outcome.
Apple TV+ is optimistic about the release of the series in 2025, another addition to the upcoming year’s adaptation line-up. Lucky will be joining 2025 adaptations like Mikey17 and The Electric State.
Looking for more adaptations? Want to see your favorite book on screen? Read Bookstr’s Read Before You Watch: Current Book Adaptations in the Making.
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