Netflix to Adapt 'The Age of Innocence' as Limited Series

Netflix has ordered a limited series adaptation of Edith Wharton's classic novel, The Age of Innocence. The news comes on the heels of news about the streamer's decision to adapt several other popular works of literature for the small screen, including John Steinbeck's East of Eden and a new take on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Published in 1920, the book was Wharton's eighth novel and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, marking the first time the award was ever given to a woman. Set during the Gilded Age of late nineteenth-century New York, the story wrestles with themes of forbidden love, duty, and change. It follows wealthy society attorney, Newland Archer, who is engaged to sheltered, well-bred May Welland. However, when he meets her charismatic cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska, he is helplessly drawn to her unconventional attitude and independent spirit. (She's considering divorcing her aristocratic husband, the scandal!) The love triangle that develops between the trio explores issues of lust, class, and duty as Newland wrestles with the question of whether he should leave May for her cousin, and what it would mean for his reputation and social standing should he decide to do so.

Wharton's story has been adapted for the screen multiple times (and has even been done as a stage play), but the Netflix series will be the first of its kind for television. (Though, to be fair, the CW series Gossip Girl did feature an episode in which several characters found their lives mirroring those in the novel.) Viewers are likely to be most familiar with Martin Scorsese's critically acclaimed 1993 feature film, which starred heavy hitters Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder, and Miriam Margolyes. It went on to be nominated for five Academy Awards, winning for Best Costume Design.  

Here's the series' description. 

The Age Of Innocence is a passionate and heart-rending will-they/won’t-they love triangle exploring themes of freedom, duty, identity and love in all its forms. This fresh take is true to Wharton’s novel but will speak to a new generation as we traverse the ballrooms and bedrooms of these young people, asking the question what is love — and what is lust? And should we ultimately be driven by our heads or by our hearts?

“At Netflix, we love when stories transcend the page and light up the screen, allowing fans to experience beloved stories in new and exciting ways,” Jinny Howe, Vice President of Drama at Netflix, said in a statement. “The impact of these adaptations can be so powerful that it not only captivates new audiences around the world, it also causes a resurgence in popularity for the original source material, with many books returning to bestseller lists many years after their initial release.

The Age of Innocence hails from showrunner and writer Emma Frost, best known to Anglophiles for her work on popular period adaptations The Spanish Princess, The White Queen, and The White Princess. Her trio of Starz series all had a decidedly feminist bent, reimagining famous women often left to languish on the sidelines of history as complex, influential figures in their own right. Her take on two of Wharton's most famous female characters should be well worth watching. 

Frost is also an executive producer, alongside Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, and Tracey Cook. No word yet on casting or when we can expect to see the series for ourselves just yet. But for those who are already enjoying the Wharton Renaissance currently underway in popular media, the second season of Apple TV+'s adaptation of her final unfinished novel, The Buccaneers, debuts this June.