Playwright Kenneth Lonergan to Adapt HOWARDS END Miniseries for BBC

Deadline reports that Oscar-nominated screenwriter and playwright Kenneth Lonergan will pen a 4-part miniseries adaptation of HOWARDS END for BBC One. The project will be based on the EM Forster novel which was adapted into a 1992 Oscar-winning film starring Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter.

According to the site, the series will "explore the changing landscape of social and class divisions in early 20th century England through the prism of three families: the intellectual and idealistic Schlegels, the wealthy Wilcoxes from the world of business, and the working class Basts."

In a statement, Lonergan shared, "I'm very proud to have been entrusted with this adaptation ofHowards End for the BBC. The book belongs to millions of readers past and present; I only have the nerve to take it on at all because of the bottomless wealth and availability of its ideas, the richness of its characters and the imperishable strain of humanity running through every scene. The blissfully expansive miniseries format makes it possible to mine these materials with a freedom and fidelity that would be otherwise impossible. It's a humbling and thrilling creative venture transporting the Schlegels, Wilcoxes and Basts from the page to the screen. I hope audiences will enjoy spending time with them as much as I do."

Production on the series is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2016.

Lonergan's first theatrical success came with the 1996 play This is Our Youth, followed by The Waverley Gallery in 1999 which was based on his grandmother's Greenwich Village Gallery. His play The Starry Messenger premiered Off-Broadway in 2009 and starred his wife, J. Smith-Cameron and Matthew Broderick.

In film, Lonergan directed his own screenplay for You Can Count on Me (2000); the film, which was executive produced by Martin Scorsese, went on to be nominated for and receive numerous writing awards.

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