Many of you will recall the absolute frenzy that surrounded Taffy Brodesser-Akner's debut novel Fleishman Is In Trouble upon release. My local bookseller dubbed it Heartburn for millennials. Is there a greater compliment than one that compares you with Nora Ephron? Surely not. Well, for those who are yet to plunge into the overwhelming, at times nauseating world of Toby Fleishman, there's no better time to do so. FX is turning the book into a limited TV series on Hulu – here's what we know.
Whether you entered this gruelling Manhattan landscape by way of the original novel or via Brodesser-Akner's lockdown era short story that ended up in The Cut, I wonder if Jesse Eisenberg is the hepatologist you imagined? Because it looks like he'll be stepping into the role of Toby Fleishman for the series adaptation. Based off his performance in The Social Network we're certain he'll do the whole unsavoury, man baby thing well.
Joining Eisenberg is Lizzy Caplan who is onboard as Libby, the series narrator and recently rekindled friend of Fleishman. It's really her voice and standpoint that brings Toby's life into focus. From her New Jersey home, and as a writer turned stay-at-home mother, Libby charts Fleishman's divorce from his wife, his success on dating apps and all the juicy details of a single 40-something doctor navigating dating in New York City. That is until she's struck by a grand realisation half way through the narrative. Expect sharp observations on misogyny, masculinity and the way they're wielded to relegate women to the background. What fun!
As casting is still underway we don't have a release date or even a production start date for the series as of yet. Which means there's still time to dive into the book if you haven't already.
Trailer
Watch the trailer for Fleishman is in Trouble, below.
What other book adaptations can you expect for 2021? Find a list of them here.
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