The Casual Vacancy, the first novel J.K. Rowling had published following her immensely successful seven-book Harry Potter series, is heading to HBO in the form of a miniseries.

'The Casual Vacancy' Coming To HBO

Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy wasn’t met with particularly positive reviews from book critics, but that hasn’t stopped networks from picking it up for live action entertainment. It was announced earlier that Rowling had teamed up with the BBC to adapt the best-seller into a three-hour miniseries. Now, it’s been announced that the author has also signed a deal to bring the miniseries to U.S. audiences through HBO, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Casual Vacancy focuses in on the goings on of a small English village called Pagford, in which vile gossip is the norm and everyone is out to get everyone else. It’s a far cry from the idealism that pervades the world of witchcraft and wizardry of Harry Potter, where good almost always triumphs over evil. In Pagford, every one is something of a villain and nobody ever seems to win.

Although The Casual Vacancy’s reviews were lukewarm at best, it managed to sell more than six million copies worldwide.

Rowling will serve as the executive producer on the TV project, which will shoot from a script penned by EastEnders alum Sarah Phelps. Johnny Campbell (Eric & Ernie) will direct the miniseries, which will commence production in South West England this coming summer.

In other Rowling news, her short Harry Potter spinoff work Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them will be developed into trilogy by Warner Bros. The film will follow magical creatures expert Newt Scamander in New York City in the 1930s, decades before Harry Potter made his mark in the magical world.

– Chelsea Regan

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