Don’t miss Kirkus’ in-depth columns on Dark Matter, an Apple TV+ limited series based on Blake Crouch’s bestselling SF thriller (premiering May 8), and Young Woman and the Sea, a theatrical film version of Glenn Stout’s nonfiction book about Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel (premiering May 31). Meanwhile, here are four other book-to-screen adaptations coming in May:
May 2: The Idea of You (film premiere, Prime Video)
In Robinne Lee’s 2017 romance novel, Solène Marchand, a 39-year-old divorced art-gallery owner, accompanies her 12-year-old daughter, Isabelle, and her friends to a Las Vegas concert by the English boy band August Moon. At a meet and greet, one of the band’s 20-year-old members—the Harry Styles–like Hayes Campbell—flirts with Solène. Back in Los Angeles, the pair begin an affair that Solène initially keeps secret from her daughter. However, when the media catches wind of the situation, it not only damages Solène’s relationship with Isabelle but also raises the ire of Hayes’ possessive fans. This promising movie version stars Oscar winner Anne Hathaway as Solène and Red, White & Royal Blue’s Nicholas Galitzine as Hayes, and it’s written by Jennifer Westfeldt and Michael Showalter, who both have impressive rom-com experience. Westfeldt wrote the popular 2001 indie film Kissing Jessica Stein, and Showalter (who also directs) was the creative force behind 2005’s The Baxter, which poked gentle fun at a number of common rom-com tropes; he’s also known for helming the acclaimed 2017 romantic comedy-drama The Big Sick.
May 2: A Man in Full (miniseries premiere, Netflix)
A Man in Full was Tom Wolfe’s second bestselling novel, published 11 years after his 1987 smash, The Bonfire of the Vanities. It centers on Atlanta real estate magnate Charlie Croker, whose comfortable life is upended when he faces bankruptcy. This miniseries was written by Big Little Lies’ David E. Kelley and co-directed by Academy Award winner Regina King, and its cast contains some other heavy hitters, including Emmy winner Jeff Daniels as Croker and the great Diane Lane as Croker’s first wife, Martha. It also features such notable actors as The Underground Railroad’s William Jackson Harper as Atlanta Mayor Wes Jordan, Lucy Liu as cosmetics business owner Joyce Newman, and Sarah Jones (For All Mankind) as Croker’s much younger second wife, Serena.
May 12: Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire (Season 2 premiere, AMC and AMC+)
The first season of this lively series was named one of Kirkus’ favorite adaptations of 2022. In Rice’s bestselling 1976 gothic-horror series starter, a man named Louis de Point du Lac tells a young journalist about his relationship with amoral vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, who changed Louis into a fanged creature two centuries earlier. In the TV series, a half-century has passed since this initial Q&A, and Louis summons the journalist again to revise his previous story. The broad strokes of the tale are the same, but the show adds new elements, notably foregrounding the original novel’s gay subtext. Jacob Anderson (Louis), Sam Reid (Lestat), and Eric Bogosian (the journalist), all fine actors, return in this second season, which covers the latter half of the novel. It prominently features yet another vampire, Armand (who headlines his own book later in the series), as well as the Paris-based Théâtre des Vampires.
May 16: Bridgerton (Season 3 premiere, Netflix)
This hit streaming series’ first two seasons adapted Julia Quinn’s bestselling Regency romances The Duke and I and The Viscount Who Loved Me (both 2000), which focused on the lives and loves of two siblings in the noble Bridgerton family: Daphne and Anthony, respectively. This new season skips to the fourth book in the series, 2002’s Romancing Mister Bridgerton, which focuses on the relationship of Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington. On the show, Penelope is played by the excellent Nicola Coughlan (Derry Girls) and was revealed in the second season to write an influential gossip column under the pseudonym Lady Whistledown. It’s been more than two years since the last season of this wildly popular show, and fans will be glad to see its return in May—even if we only get the first four episodes; the second half of the season premieres on June 13.
David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.