Hulu isn’t any stranger to book-to-TV adaptations, especially after finding hits in Little Fires In all places, Tell Me Lies, and the Sally Rooney-verse (a.k.a. Normal People and Conversations with Friends). This 12 months, much more adapted titles are headed to the streamer, including Saint X, based on Alexis Schaitkin’s 2020 bestseller.
Like its source material, the upcoming series follows a young woman’s mysterious death during a family vacation within the Caribbean, and her younger sister’s obsessive seek for answers years later. The psychological drama is told through multiple timelines and perspectives, aiming to show the everyday girl-gone-missing genre on its head.
The novel works in the same way, exploring race and privilege inside a story that would’ve been easily written off as one other Missing White Girl narrative. As creator Oyinkan Braithwaite writes in her review for the Recent York Times, “Saint X is hypnotic, delivering acute social commentary on the whole lot from class and race to familial bonds and community, and yet its weblike nature never confuses, or fails to captivate.”
More From ELLE
The series Saint X is written by Leila Gerstein (The Handmaid’s Tale, Mrs. America, Hart of Dixie), who also serves as showrunner and executive producer. Mudbound and Pariah filmmaker Dee Rees is directing and executive producing as well.
“From the moment I finished reading Alexis Schaitkin’s wonderful novel, I knew I desired to adapt it,” Gerstein exclusively tells ELLE.com in an email. “The novel has textured characters, a multi-layered world, surprises, and themes that intrigue me as a author and I used to be so excited to expand on what Alexis had arrange. Just like the book, the show deals with very real issues like grief, class, race, and culture’s obsession with dead white girls while set in a fantastic location with a fantastic mystery propelling us to the top.”
Here’s what else to know.
Alexis Schaitkin Saint X
Alexis Schaitkin Saint X
Credit: Macmillan/Celadon Books
When does the series come out?
Saint X will premiere on Hulu on April 26 with the primary three episodes, followed by one latest episode per week, ELLE.com confirms. There are eight episodes total.
Who’s within the forged?
Fear the Walking Dead’s Alycia Debnam-Carey stars as Emily Thomas. She’s joined by Josh Bonzie (The Good Fight) as Clive “Gogo” Richardson, West Duchovny (Linoleum) as Alison Thomas, Jayden Elijah (School’s Out Ceaselessly) as Edwin, Bre Francis (Malory Towers) as Sara, Betsy Brandt (Breaking Bad) as Mia Thomas, Michael Park (Because the World Turns) as Bill Thomas, and Kenlee Anaya Townsend as Claire.
Gerstein adds that the forged members “were dreams to work with. They brought depth and honesty to all their performances, and we were so very lucky to have the amazing Dee Rees on board to direct the primary episode and set the look and tone of the season.”
Can I get a sneak peek?
Listed here are some first-look photos of the series below while we wait for a trailer.
Jayden Elijah and West Duchovny.
Hulu
Michael Park and Betsy Brandt.
Hulu
Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There’s a 75 percent likelihood she’s listening to Lorde right away.
