Julia Roberts has plot course for the small-screen.
Marking her first foray onto a limited TV series, the Oscar-winning actress is attached to star and produce the adaptation of Today Will Be Different, Maria Semple’s touching novel that first hit shelves back in October. Taking place over the course of a single day, Semple’s story orbits around Eleanor Flood (Roberts), a mother and wife who, after mapping out plans for the seemingly perfect day, learns all too quickly that life tends to make plans on its own accord. Flood ultimately spends her time nursing a son feigning illness, a husband that books a holiday on a whim – without her prior knowledge, mind you – and a family secret that threatens to put their bond to the sword.
While chatting to NPR (via Empire), Maria Semple offered some insight into the character of Eleanor, and how Today Will Be Different is in many ways designed to explore the lowly rut that many marriages tend to find themselves in at one point or another.
Speaking specifically about the book’s title, the author said that:
“I could say that today is the day where she realizes a lot of things. And one of the things she realizes is that her marriage is on auto-pilot…so this is a book to me about the decision to dig in and to try to, as Eleanor says, not mistake love for youth. You know, that when you’re young you’re just crazy about each other and now you have to work a little harder at it.”
Today Will Be Different has been snapped up by Annapurna’s newfound TV arm, though there’s no mention of a premiere window just yet. Roberts, meanwhile, is coming off HBO film The Normal Heart.
