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Hulu is developing a television adaptation of Elle Kennedy’s novel Thornbird, with Marlene King signed on to write and serve as an executive producer for the 20th Television project. The adaptation will bring the author’s coming-of-age thriller to the screen, with Kennedy also listed as an executive producer alongside King and Lauren Wagner.
What the series will cover
Thornbird follows 17-year-old Ryan Shipley, who returns to her childhood town of Starling, Tennessee, a decade after her father—identified in the novel as serial killer Gabriel Thorn—was apprehended. The central tension revolves around Ryan’s efforts to assume a new identity, keep her family history secret and try to live a normal teenage life while unresolved crimes loom over her past.
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The book frames the story as a race against time: Ryan attempts to uncover the truth about her family’s violent past before it catches up to her. The mix of coming-of-age drama and true-crime mystery is a throughline the adaptation will aim to preserve.
Creative team and production details
Marlene King, known for developing serialized teen drama for television, will write the adaptation and act as an executive producer. The project is produced by 20th Television, with Lauren Wagner and author Elle Kennedy listed as additional executive producers.
King’s involvement signals a focus on character-driven storytelling. The source material’s blend of teenage intimacy and darker suspense aligns with projects King has previously shepherded.
About the novel and the author
The novel was published under the name E. Kennedy; it marks the author’s first release under that pseudonym and debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list after its June 30 publication. Kennedy’s book centers on one young woman’s attempt to solve her family’s crimes before it is too late.
Kennedy is best known for the Off Campus series. That series was adapted for television at Prime Video, where Season 1 premiered in May and reportedly drew 36 million viewers worldwide in its first 12 days, becoming one of the streamer’s top debut series. Production is underway on Season 2.
Her novel Girl Abroad is also being developed for television at Amazon, with A24 Television and Kit Steinkellner attached to that project. Kennedy’s representation includes Independent Artist Group; Circle Management and Production; Park, Fine, & Brower Literary Management; and Toczek Suddleson Law Group LLP.
Marlene King’s background
King rose to prominence as the developer and showrunner of Freeform’s Pretty Little Liars, a seven-season series adapted from Sara Shepard’s books. That show engaged with themes including sexuality and mental health over its run. King also wrote the screenplay for the coming-of-age film Now & Then and has credits on titles such as Just My Luck, If These Walls Could Talk, Freeform’s Famous in Love and Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists.
She operates through her production company, Long Lake Media, and is represented by WME and Entertainment 360.
