A new TV series will explore an alternate universe in which Hillary Rodham never married Bill Clinton.
Based on Curtis Sittenfeld’s best-selling novel Rodham, it will follow “an ambitious young woman” as she “develops her extraordinary mind in the latter part of the 20th century”.
In the novel, Hillary meets and starts dating a fictionalised version of Bill but, after the former president’s dark nature is revealed, the relationship comes to an end.
The rights to Sittenfeld’s novel have been optioned by Hulu, with Sarah Treem – whose most recent series The Affair came to an end in 2019 – set to oversee the adaptation.
The Handmaid’s Tale‘s Warren Littlefield will co-produce alongside Treem.
Rodham was published in May. Sittenfeld’s previous books include Prep, American Wife and Eligible, a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in Ohio.
Speaking about the inspiration behind writing Rodham, Sittenfeld told The Independent: “I think in some ways that’s one of the special and wonderful and mysterious things about fiction, that it can be intimate in ways that an interview can’t be, or a work of nonfiction usually can’t be.”
She added: “But to be clear, this is a book of imagination and creativity, and it’s not Hillary’s memoir. It’s not a biography. I’ve never met her. I see this as an artistic experiment.”
Treem, who has worked on TV shows In Treatment and House of Cards, is also writing a new Apple+ series about film star Hedy Lamarr, starring Gal Gadot.
