TV Adaptation of J.K. Rowling's THE CASUAL VACANCY In the Works

Deadline.com reports that BBC One and BBC Drama will develop a TV series based on J.K. Rowling's best-selling novel THE CASUAL VACANCY. The novel was Rowling's first work of fiction since she completed the highly successful 'Harry Potter' series.

According to the report, it is not yet known how many episodes the story will be broken up into, but Rowling is expected to closely collaborate on the project, set to be broadcast some time in 2014.

The author said in a statement today,“I’m thrilled that the BBC has commissioned The Casual Vacancy. I always felt that, if it were to be adapted, this novel was best suited to television and I think the BBC is the perfect home.” To date, the novel, which was published in September, has sold over 1 million copies.

The book's synopsis on Amazon.com reads:

When Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…. Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town’s council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations? Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constant