Jonathan Franzen’s “The Corrections” has long been considered one of the finest books of the 21st century, the winner of the National Book Award and a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. It only makes sense that someone would’ve wanted to adapt it for the screen, and over a decade ago, it came pretty close.
Back in 2012, Noah Baumbach directed a pilot for a would-be series adaptation for HBO alongside producer Scott Rudin back, but the premium cable network passed.
The pilot starred Chris Cooper, Dianne Wiest, Ewan McGregor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rhys Ifans, and Greta Gerwig, it was said to have stellar performances. But some said HBO brass felt it was tough to track the narrative threads that jumped through time that work well in print but are more challenging for a series. Other directors had tried for film adaptations that fizzled as well. (At the time, HBO had just canceled its series “Luck” while picking up the equally starry “True Detective.”)
But a new adaptation is in the works over a decade later, and this time Meryl Streep is set to lead the series for Netflix, the streamer announced on April 2. No release date or additional cast has been set.
Streep’s involvement actually dates back to 2024 when it was in development at CBS Studios. Cord Jefferson, who directed “American Fiction” and also worked on the “Watchmen” series, is new to the project and is directing the limited series drama that has been given a direct-to-series order by Netflix.
Franzen himself is writing the adaptation of his book, and Streep is executive producing along with Jefferson and “Task” EPs Mark Roybal and Paul Lee. Nicole Clemens is also executive producing. The series hails from Paramount Television Studios.
“The Corrections” is about a Midwestern family whose three unmoored adult siblings desperately resist their mother’s wish for one last Christmas together — each undone by the delusional ambitions that were supposed to save them from becoming their parents. Of the three children of Enid (Streep) and Alfred, Gary might be clinically depressed, Chip lost his job and is struggling professionally, and Denise is potentially caught up in an affair, all while Alfred’s struggling with dementia, and Enid is determined to make this potentially final family Christmas the best.
Streep previously appeared in Netflix’s “Don’t Look Up” and was on TV for “Big Little Lies” and “Only Murders in the Building.” Coincidentally, Baumbach, who directed the HBO pilot, has a deal with Netflix that has seen his last several films all land there, but he won’t be involved in this new series.
Other Franzen adaptations have had similar starts and stops as “The Corrections,” the most recent of which was reported last month with Netflix being interested in an adaptation of Franzen’s “Crossroads” that would star Jeremy Strong.
