Fresh off the heels of the critically acclaimed Netflix

drama Adolescence, writer Jack Thorne has nailed down his next project. The BAFTA-winning writer is set to adapt Suzanne Heywood’s international bestseller and incredible true story detailed in “Wavewalker: Breaking Free” (via Deadline). Heywood’s 2023 memoir recounts the author’s childhood spent on a decade-long, unplanned sailing voyage around the world with her parents and brother. The book details the difficulties of life at sea, including storms, isolation, and limited education, while also exploring the dynamics within her family.
James Norton, a renowned English actor known for roles in television, film, and theater, who has gained acclaim for his performances in Happy Valley, Grantchester, and McMafia, asa well as becoming a favorite for the next James Bond, will lead the series as Heywood’s father. While speaking about the “amazing role,” Norton discussed the “beautiful picture” that the adaptation will tell:

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“What starts as a dream as this roguish father paints this beautiful picture about this trip that is meant to take a year or two, takes about 10. The two children were basically enslaved by their father as crew members on this boat. He denied them a youth and an education. It’s about the against the odds fight for life and education, and the struggle between this very charismatic father, who loves his daugthers very dearly, and the cruelty that he puts on them.”

Over on X (previously Twitter), Heywood shared she was “delighted” about Thorne joining the project. Norton and Kitty Kaletsky’s Rabbit Track Pictures will produce the upcoming series.
Will We See a Second Season of ‘Adolescence’?

Netflix

Adolescence was co-written and co-created by Thorne and Stephen Graham, who also starred in the crime drama as Eddie Miller, the father of Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), a 13-year-old boy accused of killing a female classmate. The show premiered to impressive numbers: 24.3 million views in its four opening days, and then set a Netflix record for limited series with 66.3 million views in two weeks. The four-episode drama has sparked necessary conversations about toxic masculinity, social media bullying and online safety, and mental health struggles.
As with most successful shows, Adolescence has sparked hopes for a sophomore season. However, Thorne recently shut down any idea that the team behind Adolescence would work on a follow-up story. During an interview with The Morning, he shared:

“I don’t think we’re the right people to tell Katie’s story. I think there are other makers out there that could tell beautiful dramas about Katie or girls like Katie, and that those shows should be made. Our aim was to try and tell Jamie’s story as fully as we possibly could, and maybe trying to tell her story would dilute that in some way and maybe we would be inadequate for that task.

The second thing in terms of the second series, is, I think Jamie’s story is finished. I don’t think there’s anywhere more we can take Jamie, so I don’t think there is a series two. We’d love to explore the one shot format in another way. We’d love to tell other stories with it, but I don’t think a series two of Adolescence is quite right for us.”

Hannah Walters, who co-stars in the series alongside husband Graham, echoed a similar sentiment but provided some hope for a follow-up project:

“A prequel to Adolescence, that’s certainly not going to happen. But there’s so much mileage in the one-shot and so much mileage in investing into human nature again and looking at something else,” she shared.

Thorne is a highly acclaimed screenwriter and playwright, known for a diverse portfolio across television, film, and theater. Along with Adolescence, he is best known for writing the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and working on shows like His Dark Materials and This is England. Adolescence is now streaming on Netflix.
Source: Deadline, This Morning, @SuzanneHeywood