Netflix‘s The Age of Innocence adaptation has cast four series regulars to lead the limited series: Camila Morrone (Daisy Jones & the Six, Something Very Bad is Going to Happen), Kristine Froseth (The Buccaneers, Oh, Canada), Ben Radcliffe (Masters of the Air, Anatomy of a Scandal), and Margot Martindale (The Americans, Justified). Additionally, Shannon Murphy (Dying for Sex, Babyteeth) will direct the first three episodes and is also an executive producer.
From Emma Frost, based on Edith Wharton’s classic novel of forbidden love in 19th-century New York, The Age of Innocence is a passionate and heart-rending tale of a will-they-won’t-they love triangle that explores themes of freedom, duty, identity, and love in all its forms. This fresh take is faithful to Wharton’s novel but will resonate with a new generation as we traverse the ballrooms and bedrooms of these young people, asking the question: What is love—and what is lust? And should we ultimately be driven by our heads or by our hearts?
Morrone will play Ellen Olenska, May’s intelligent and independent cousin, who returns to New York after a failed marriage to Count Stanislas Olenski, a Polish nobleman. A free spirit who is playful, intelligent, and strong-willed, yet carries conflict and guilt surrounding her new position in society.
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Froseth stars as May Welland, a kind and genuine woman who is a product of her social class. Traditional, a rule follower and believer in the status quo, but not without rebellion.
Radcliffe is Newland Archer, a handsome, progressive, and intelligent society gentleman who craves a deeper and more passionate connection to the world and someone in it.
Martindale portrays Mrs. Manson-Mingott May and Ellen’s grandmother, who is entertaining, scurrilous, defiant, capricious, and stubborn.
Since its publication in 1920, The Age of Innocence has remained a constant in the global “classics” and is considered by many as the first true American society novel. The book won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, making Wharton the first woman to win the prize. The 1993 Martin Scorsese feature adaptation earned numerous critical Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Academy Award nominations and wins.
Emma Frost is the showrunner, writer, and executive producer of Netflix’s The Age of Innocence. EPs also include Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Tracey Cook for Chernin Entertainment, Shannon Murphy, Pavlina Hatoupis, and Murphy. In addition to Murphy, Lisa Bruhlmann (Killing Eve) and Natalia Leite (The Handmaid’s Tale) will also direct.