Director Lenny Abrahamson has said that filming on Conversations With Friends, the "cousin" of the smash-hit drama Normal People, is set to start filming in six weeks time.
During a recent interview on Box-Office to promote the Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival, the Oscar-nominated director of Room gave an update and said that pre-production on the eagerly-anticipated show has already begun.
"It's going pretty well. It's an odd time to be gathering groups of people together and trying to work on the material but I think we have that sorted. Others have done it before us and there are protocols etc. We're actually due to start filming in about six weeks but we're into pre-production next week having had a hiatus.
"It's all great, we have an amazing cast that's led by this wonderful young Irish actress called Alison Oliver who's just fresh out of the Lir. Then, there are three other brilliant actors - Sasha Lane, Joe Alwyn and Jemima Kirke - that's the central quartet and we're all very excited to get stuck in and be working again.
Conversations With Friends will see Element Pictures once again collaborating with director Lenny Abrahamson and writer Alice Birch who will work alongside writers Mark O’Halloran (Rialto), Meadhbh McHugh (Asking For It) and Susan Soon He Stanton (Succession) on the 12-part drama for BBC Three in partnership with Hulu.
In terms of the plot, Conversations with Friends follows Frances (Alison Oliver), a 21-year-old college student, as she navigates a series of relationships that force her to confront her own vulnerabilities for the first time.
Frances is observant, cerebral and sharp. Her ex-girlfriend, now best friend, Bobbi (Sasha Lane) is self-assured, outspoken and compelling. Though they broke up three years ago, Frances and Bobbi are virtually inseparable and perform spoken word poetry together in Dublin. It’s at one of their shows that they meet Melissa (Jemima Kirke), an older writer, who is fascinated by the pair.
Bobbi and Frances start to spend time with Melissa and her husband, Nick (Joe Alwyn), a handsome but reserved actor. While Melissa and Bobbi flirt with each other openly, Nick and Frances embark on an intense, secret affair that is surprising to them both. Soon the affair begins to test the bond between Frances and Bobbi, forcing Frances to reconsider her sense of self, and the friendship she holds so dear.
Filming will take place this year in Dublin, Belfast and international locations, with Abrahamson (Room, The Little Stranger, Frank) returning and sharing the directorial duties with Leanne Welham (Pili, His Dark Materials).
Following the global success of Normal People, Abrahamson does accept that comparisons will be made between the two shows but insists that Conversations with Friends is very much its own show.
"It has a lot of the same core team that were involved on Normal People - Alice Birch is adapting with Mark and some other great writers - then we have a similar format. It's 12 half-hour episodes. The way I think of it is that it's kind of a cousin of Normal People. It's not a sequel, a sister or brother, but there's a similarity between the shows. It's about four people and their interrelationships, there's lots of the intimacy and insight that Sally brings to her writing. We're all very excited and I think it's something that audiences will potentially get a lot out of.," he said.
