Fans of Celeste Ng’s 2017 book, Little Fires Everywhere , will be very excited indeed by Reese Witherspoon’s latest Instagram update. The series for Hulu is currently in production and Witherspoon posted the first image still from the series.
Witherspoon captioned the photo, indicating that the show is a throwback to the 90s.
In the image, Reese is wearing a blue dress with a thin red belt. She stands next to the actress, Kerry Washington, who is wearing dark jeans with a black top. The image has a very Stepford Wives feel to it thanks to Witherspoon’s dress. However, Little Fires Everywhere is likely to be anything but an adaptation of The Stepford Wives .
Instead, Little Fires Everywhere is set in Ohio and will tell the story of Elena Richardson, a woman whose house burns down in a suspected arson attack. In the book, on which the TV series is based, one of Elena’s children is initially suspected in the attack after the discovery that the fire started as a result of a multitude of little fires everywhere, hence the title.
Mia Warren is a mother who is also subletting Elena’s house, according to the synopsis for the book. Witherspoon will play the role of Elena Richardson and Washington will play Mia Warren.
The Richardson family is affluent but not without their own problems, according to TV Guide . Elena is a mother who is desperate to protect her own children, yet “kept in the dark about what’s really happening under her own roof.” The story will also delve into family dynamics as Mia’s child grows close to Elena’s children.
According to Entertainment Weekly , Little Fires Everywhere will also delve into “a controversial adoption of a Chinese-American baby, in which the white adopted parents fight the birth mother for custody.”
In addition to the casting of Witherspoon and Washington, Joshua Jackson will play Bill Richardson, Elena’s husband who is also the attorney assigned to the adoption case. The Richardson’s children have also been cast. Jade Pettyjohn will play Lexie, Jordan Elsass (Trip), Gavin Lewis (Moody), and Megan Stott will play Izzie, the youngest child. Izzie is also the “most problematic” of the four children.
Little Fires Everywhere was picked up by Reese’s production company, Hello Sunshine, the company also responsible for the other current Witherspoon TV series, Big Little Lies . Liz Tigelaar ( Life Unexpected , Bates Motel ) will act as writer and showrunner for the upcoming Hulu series. Author, Celeste Ng will also take on the role of producer.
Production for Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere started in May and is due for release in 2020.
