From President Barack Obama’s list of favorite books in 2017 to plenty of fiction awards, Naomi Alderman’s novel “The Power” is taking its next step: an upcoming Amazon Prime series.
The series, set to star Leslie Mann, is breaking boundaries set by decades of disparity in Hollywood. “The Power” will feature an all-female writing room, lead by Alderman herself. In addition to the stacked staff of female writers, Clarie Wilson of and “Little Drummer Girl” has signed on as a co-executive producer alongside Sarah Quintrell of “Ellen,” who will also double as a story consultant for the adaptation. Whit Anderson of “Ozark,” Stacy Osei-Kuffour of “PEN15,” and author Rebecca Levene are also confirmed as part of the stacked writing crew to bring the science fiction novel to life.
What is “The Power” about?
Originally published in 2016, this feminist novel centers around women becoming the dominant gender due to developing the ability to release electrical jolts through their fingertips. Written as a manuscript within a book, it details an era in which women developed their power of emitting electricity. The “manuscript” within the novel is given to an author five thousand years after the “power” is discovered and the world has turned into a matriarchy versus its counterpart, the patriarchy.
“The Power” follows a series of characters–Allie, Roxy, Jocelyn, Olatunde, Tatiana, Margot, and Neil–as society learns about this power within women, changing the world as they know it. At first, this discovery is treated much like an infectious disease, resulting in quarantine for the women infected. After it has spread, women globally begin to seize power, now able to electrocute and defend themselves against men in power.
Alderman’s novel poses the question, “How would the world change if women had the power in a matriarchal society?”
Beyond the accolades of former president Barack Obama, The New York Times named “The Power” as one of the 10 best books in 2017. It also won the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction, a prestigious literary award in the United Kingdom.
What do we know about the TV adaptation?
It was officially announced in February of 2019 that “The Power” would be adapted into a 10-episode series for Amazon Prime Video, set to be released to over 200 countries and territories.
The rights were acquired by Jane Featherstone, a TV producer in England, via an 11-way auction. Reed Marano of “The Handmaid’s Tale” will be directing and acting as an executive producer for the series. Amazon has not yet released a date for when “The Power” series will be debuting.
