By Lacy Baugher for Drama on June 10th, 2014

Michael Gambon and Keeley Hawes to Star in TV Adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s ‘The Casual Vacancy’

"The Casual Vacancy" Book Cover
"The Casual Vacancy" Book Cover
An all-star British cast has been announced to take part in the TV adaptation of author J.K. Rowling’s best selling The Casual Vacancy, led by none other than Dumbledore himself. Harry Potter’s Michael Gambon is set to star, alongside such notable and fabulous faces as Line of Duty’s Keeley Hawes, The Hollow Crown’s Rory Kinnear, Appropriate Adult’s Monica Dolan, Miss Marple’s Julia McKenzie and more.

Casual Vacancy was Rowling’s first novel for adults after the conclusion of the Harry Potter series, and focuses on the small English town of Padford, where a special election is being held following the sudden death of a local council member. Drama ensues, as squabbles amongst the townspeople erupt - rich vs. poor, teenagers vs. parents, wives vs. husbands, teachers vs. pupils.

Gambon is set to play Howard Mollison, owner of the Padford delicatessen, with McKenzie as his wife Shirley. Kinnear is to play Barry Fairbrother, Coronation Street’s Keeley Forsyth is playing Terry Weedon, with newcomer Abigail Lawrie as her daughter Krystal. Howard Mollison’s son Miles will be played by W1A’s Rufus Jones, and his wife Samantha will be played by Hawes.

The three-part BBC miniseries is being produced in partnership with HBO – which means that’s likely where it will air when it comes to America – has no announced airdate as yet, but filming is set to get underway in July.

Plus, a fair amount of other roles are still to be cast (there are a lot of characters in this book), but considering the talent that’s already lined up to appear in this, it seems we can rest easy on that score. Given that there are around 10 more major players that appear in this story in one way or another, the odds also seem pretty good that a few more names we recognize might show up here as well.

Have any of you read The Casual Vacancy? Do you think it’ll make an interesting miniseries? 

By Lacy Baugher for Drama on June 10th, 2014
Lacy Baugher

Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things Doctor Who, and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

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    While it’s still a bit strange to talk about news involving J.K. Rowling that isn’t tied to boy wizards or Quidditch, fans of the Harry Potter author will be pleased to know that her latest novel (and first for adults) The Casual Vacancy will be adapted for television by the BBC and broadcast in 2014.

    Little is known at this juncture about what a Casual Vacancy series will look like – things like number and length of episodes are apparently going to be sorted out along the way as the development process gets going. Rowling is said to be “consulting closely” with the BBC on the upcoming adaptation, so odds that it will remain fairly faithful to the novel are high.

    "I’m thrilled that the BBC has commissioned 'The Casual Vacancy,'" Rowling said in a statement. "I always felt that, if it were to be adapted, this novel was best suited to television and I think the BBC is the perfect home."

    The Casual Vacancy is a social satire centered on a local election following a sudden death in the small English town of Pagford The novel received mixed reviews upon its release last Fall, but was an instant global best seller nevertheless. Personally, I’ve not read it yet, but it’s on my list of things to get to at some point. (Got reviews? Tell me!)

    There are no plans as yet to currently air The Casual Vacancy in the United States as yet, but thanks to the sheer size of author’s fanbase, it would seem a fairly safe bet that we’ll see this series here at some point in the future.

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