HBO is getting back in the Gillian Flynn business with another miniseries based on a novel by the Sharp Objects and Gone Girl author.
Like a lot of people—and half of Hollywood—I fell down the Gillian Flynn hole in the early 2010s (new book WHEN) when I learned that David Fincher was making a movie based on her hit novel Gone Girl. Though it seemed exciting at the time, Charlize Theron’s plans to produce and star in an adaptation of Flynn’s second novel, Dark Places, ultimately resulted in an underwhelming and forgettable 2015 movie undermined by an exclusive deal with DirecTV. (That said, Chloë Grace Moretz performs a cult ritual with a cow and dances around in its blood, which is kind of incredible.)
HBO did right by Flynn’s first novel, Sharp Objects, with an impressive miniseries led by Amy Adams and Chris Messina and directed by the late Jean-Marc Vallée. Hopefully the network can pull it off again, as Variety reports that HBO has teamed with Flynn on a new limited series adaptation of Dark Places. Flynn is serving as co-creator, writer (!), and co-showrunner of the series alongside fellow showrunner and co-creator Brett Johnson (Candy, Escape at Dannemora) and co-creator and writer Guerrin Gardner.
Dark Places follows Libby Day, a woman whose mother and sisters were murdered when she was a child. Libby’s testimony helped convict her older brother of participating in the murders, which, having occurred at the height of the Satanic Panic in 1985, were attributed to Satanists. 25 years later, Libby is contacted by amateur sleuths who believe her brother is innocent and, sensing an opportunity to capitalize on her past trauma, she agrees to work with them in exchange for cash.
Here’s the official plot synopsis for Dark Places:
Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in the famous 1985 ‘Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.’ She survived—and famously testified that her teenage brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, a pair of mother/daughter true crime ‘detectives’ locate a grownup Libby and pump her for details, believing that Ben is innocent. Libby, having spent her youth working the talk show circuit, hopes to once again turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings —for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist traps, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer.
Published in 2009, Dark Places deals with some pretty timely subject matter and themes, including the ethics of amateur sleuthing and true crime fandom; as well as more timeless concerns, such as victims’ rights and moral panics. As with every Flynn novel, the protagonist is deeply flawed and often uncomfortable to sit with—in this case, Libby spent her childhood gaining attention (and money) by reliving her personal horror story for an audience, which shapes her relationship with her trauma as an adult.
No shade to Charlize Theron (a tall and powerful queen), but I am stoked by the prospect of a Dark Places adaptation that is actually good. With no casting or other details announced just yet, it’s unclear when we’ll get to see the HBO miniseries, but it’ll probably be 2025 at the earliest.
(featured image: Crown / Steve Granitz, WireImage)
