Is Long Bright River Book Different from the Show? Author Liz Moore Teases "Some Departures"
Peacock’s Long Bright River has surprises in store even for readers of the suspense thriller, according to the author, Liz Moore.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP(4357). It's free, confidential, and available 24/7.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP(4357). It's free, confidential, and available 24/7.
The creative minds behind Peacock's Long Bright River limited series kept the novel as their "north star" to guide them — but were there some changes? Ultimately, both the author and the showrunner kept to the spirit of the novel, but noted there had to be a few differences while developing it for TV.
Both the fictional book and series Long Bright River follows single mother and police officer Mickey (Amanda Seyfried), who is looking into the murders of women in a Philadelphia neighborhood rattled by opioid addiction. At the same time, she is also desperately searching for her missing sister Kacey(Ashleigh Cummings).
At its heart, this is "a love story between two sisters," showrunner Nikki Toscano (The Offer) highlighted in her interview with NBC Insider.
What’s different in the Long Bright River limited series vs the book?
A paramount aspect of the book author Liz Moore wanted to preserve on the show was the respect and compassion for people with addiction and their loved ones. She first felt inspired to write the novel in 2009 while she worked on a photo essay project.
"A lot people that I met were experiencing addiction, or were the family members of somebody experiencing addiction. It's a subject that I can relate to because I have a long family history of addiction as well," Moore told NBC Insider. "I was really moved by what I saw."
Toscano understood this, and confirmed "the soul and the heart of the series is the same as it was in the novel." Still, transforming the story for the screen lent itself to creative changes.
“Both of us were really excited to kind of make some departures from the book,” Moore said. “Such that like anybody who was a fan of the book could potentially be surprised by the series and watch it with a similar level of interest.”
One difference Toscano points out is how the series deals with some investigative turns compared to the book.
“There were choices that were made … as far as different flashbacks to illuminate what was happening between two characters,” Toscano said, adding with a chuckle: “'You're inevitably taking a very large novel and translating it into eight hours of television. There are things that don't translate as visually that might be in a book.”
Still, they knew “at all times what our north star was," Toscano assured fans.
“It was really about making choices in the interest of the characters and the preservation of who they were in the novel,” Toscano said.
Seyfried (Mean Girls, Mamma Mia) really understood the importance of telling this story, Toscano told NBC Insider.
“Amanda brought a fire to the role that maybe wasn’t on the page and when she pulled it through her filter, it was just something that was so incredibly compelling,” Toscano said. “She had this vision of this character that had been working this beat for a very long time and had developed a sort of code of armor so to speak and I think that it really sort of translates onto the screen in a really enriching way.”
As for any book readers eager to learn how exactly shocking twists and revelations will play out on screen ... they'll just have to tune in. Long Bright River premieres with all eight episodes available March 13 on Peacock.
