Zoe Kazan Adapts John Steinbeck Novel East of Eden for Netflix Series

Series creator Zoe Kazan has adapted John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden for a new television series on Netflix, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety TV. The novel follows two farming families in California's Salinas Valley as their lives intertwine, TVLine reported. Variety TV noted that Kazan's adaptation foregrounds the character Lee and rethinks the role of Cathy Ames. [1][2][3][4]

The release of the television series has propelled John Steinbeck's novel back to the top of Amazon's Best Sellers List in the number one spot, Variety reported. Variety added that the audiobook version of the novel has also reached the retail giant's list of best books featured on BookTok. [2]

The ensemble cast includes Florence Pugh as Cathy and Christopher Abbott as Adam, according to TVLine and Variety TV. TVLine reported that Joe Anders plays Aron Trask, one of Cathy and Adam's twin sons, appearing alongside Mike Faist in the adaptation. [2][3][4]

Kazan comes from a prominent filmmaking family and is the daughter of screenwriters Nicholas Kazan and Robin Swicord. Her grandfather Elia Kazan directed James Dean in a 1955 film adaptation of the fourth and final part of Steinbeck's novel, Variety TV reported. [4][13]