'Little Women' Miniseries Finds March Sisters; Uma Thurman's Daughter Maya Leads
A three-part "Little Women" miniseries is coming to BBC and PBS in a co-production. The show has started casting the characters for the adaptation of the classic novel written by Louisa May Alcott, as principal photography is set to begin in Ireland in August.
Eighteen-year-old Maya Thurman-Hawke, Uma Thurman's daughter with ex-husband Ethan Hawke, will play Jo March. Many readers favor this character as the best sister in the novel published in 1869.
This will be the young actress' debut following her modelling stint and a year after enrolling in Julliard. Also cast as the rest of the March sisters are Willa Fitzgerald (Meg), Annes Elwy (Beth) and Kathryn Newton (Amy).
Dame Angela Lansbury also boards the show as the girls' wealthy aunt, while Emily Watson will play Marmee, the girls' mom. "Harry Potter's" Dumbledore Michael Gambon is also joining the miniseries as Mr. Laurence, the March's neighbor, while Jonah Hauer-King plays Laurie Laurence, who courts Jo but ends up marrying Amy.
"Little Women" will follow four sisters who are coming of age during the Civil War. The story deals with love, loss, marriage, sibling rivalry and the triumph and failures of being a woman. Vanessa Caswill ("My Mad Fat Diary") will direct the production from a script that Heidi Thomas ("Call the Midwife") wrote.
"Little Women" was first announced in May by BBC's new controller. Lansbury was the first pick during casting. The Tony and Oscar winning actress is best known on American TV as the star of "Murder, She Wrote."
The story of "Little Women" has been adapted for the big and small screen quite a number of times. In the '90s, Winona Ryder starred as Jo in the movie directed by Gillian Armstrong. Claire Danes, Kirsten Dunst and Trini Alvarado played Beth, Amy and Meg, respectively, while Susan Sarandon played their mom.
BBC and PBS have no air date for "Little Women" as of press time.
