Sundance Now Picks Up the Adaptation of Lauren Kate's 'Fallen'

For all that Sundance Now and the little federation of small-time streaming services it dwells among with its AMC Nertwork's brethren, it is a valuable platform, as is Acorn TV, which is why it is so irritating that both streaming services are consistently undermarketed. BritBox, after all, has a precise brief: British TV, and only British TV. The same is true for PBS, which brings intelligent, entertaining, well-made series from the U.K. and Europe to America. So what happens to the trashier English language series that are more action thrillers than intellectually stimulating and aren't made in the U.K.? That's precisely what Acorn TV and Sundance Now are for, with Acorn TV leaning towards the Commonwealth states once owned by the U.K. (Canada, Australia, New Zealand) while Sundance Now aims for the paranormal, supernatural, magical fare that fits with AMC+'s heavy reliance on zombies, vampires, and witches.

Sundance Now's latest series to be picked up is exactly in that wheelhouse. Fallen is based on the best-selling paranormal teenage boarding school set series of novels from American writer Lauren Kate. The first novel, from which the series takes its name, was published in 2009 and revolves around a creepy boarding school deep in the Old South of Atlanta, Georgia. It was first adapted for the big screen in 2016 with an international cast that featured British actors Jeremy Irvine (Outlander: Blood of My Blood), Joely Richardson (Downton Abbey), and Australian Harrison Gilbertson (Oppenheimer), but the film flopped. 

The new adaptation, an eight-part TV series, is a Swiss-German production that debuted on Brazil's Globoplay in August 2024 and has slowly rolled out across the globe since to rave reviews. One can only hope that fans of Kate's novel series find their way to Sundance (or AMC+, where the show is co-streaming) to check it out.

Here's the series synopsis:

Fallen is a seductive supernatural thriller based on Lauren Kate’s best-selling book series. Haunted by memories of fire and dark, sinister shadows, Lucinda “Luce” Price is sent to Sword & Cross – a mysterious, remote facility for young criminals and outcasts where nothing is as it seems. Among a band of militant staff and intimidating strangers, Luce meets Cam and Daniel, two enigmatic yet strangely familiar figures she can’t get out of her head. As she struggles to uncover the truth about the terrifying events that brought her to Sword & Cross, she begins to piece together her past, realize her power, and discover her destiny in an epic battle of good and evil. 

The series stars Jessica Alexander (The Little Mermaid) as Luce, Timothy Innes (Harlots) as Cam, Gijs Blom (The Letter for the King) as Daniel, Alexander Siddig (Star Trek) as the mysterious Howson, James Callis (Slow Horses) as Edward, and Sarah Niles (Ted Lasso) as Miriam. The supporting cast includes Sam Bell (Miss Scarlet), Esme Kingdom (My Oxford Year), Josefine Koenig (Sugarlove), Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness (Deep Water), Lawrence Walker (Screw), Laura Majid (Taelgia), plus newcomers Maura Bird.

Writers Rachel Paterson (Domina) and Roland Moore (Humans) penned all episodes of Fallen, based on an idea by Claudia Bluemhuber. Director Matt Hastings (The Handmaid’s Tale) helmed all eight installments. Bluemhuber, Hastings, Paterson, and Moore all executive produce along with Herbert L. Kloiber. Alen Bulic, Karol Griffiths, Florian Dargel & Alexander Jooss co-executive produce for Silver Reel with Olivia Pahl & James Copp for Night Train Media.  

Fallen debuts on Sundance Now and AMC+ on Thursday, February 6, 2025.