Anthony Doerr’s epic war novel “All the Light We Cannot See” has been greenlit to a limited series at Netflix. Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps Entertainment (the production banner behind TV shows “Stranger Things” and “Shadow and Bone,” and films “Free Guy” and “Arrival”) will produce, with Levy directing all the episodes. The book-to-screen adaptation is penned by Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”).
The four-part show will center on the story of Marie-Laure, a French teenager who is blind, and Werner, a German soldier, whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II, as the show recounts their lives from 1934 to 2014. “All the Light We Cannot See” was published in 2014 and went on to win the coveted Pulitzer Prize in 2015, as well as the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction in 2015. Moreover, the Doerr novel spent more than 200 weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list and has sold nearly 15.2 million copies globally. It currently holds a 4.3 out of 5 approval rating on book reviews aggregator Goodreads. Doerr’s latest novel, “Cloud Cuckoo Land,” is set to be published on Sept. 28, 2021.
Levy, Dan Levine and Josh Barry of 21 Laps Entertainment will executive produce, along with Knight. Joe Strechay (“See,” “The OA”) will serve as an associate producer and a blindness and accessibility Consultant. The producers have begun their worldwide casting search, and actresses who are blind or low-vision are especially encouraged to apply for the lead role of a teenaged Marie-Laure. Those interested can apply by emailing lucybevancasting@gmail.com.