Will Ferrell has joined a Netflix series that was previously in development at HBO Max but never made it to the screen. While HBO Max had been actively developing the project, Netflix has now picked it up with a straight-to-series order. The show is based on a 2005 YA novel.
Prep, based on Curtis Sittenfeld’s bestselling debut novel, is being developed by Nicole Taylor. According to Deadline, Taylor previously served as an executive producer on Netflix’s One Day, another book adaptation. Gloria Sanchez Productions is also attached to the project.
Taylor will serve as both the executive producer and showrunner on the series. She will be joined by Will Ferrell, Jessica Elbaum, and Alix Taylor as fellow executive producers. The project is also slated to begin its writers’ room in January 2027.
Behind Netflix’s new coming-of-age drama
Prep is a coming-of-age story centered on Lee Fiora, a scholarship student navigating high school at Ault, a prestigious New England boarding school. The series will follow her as she deals with friendships, crushes, and the challenges of fitting in among her confident and privileged classmates.
Regarding the book and the adaptation, Taylor said, “There is no more acute depiction of the introspective, bookish, self-conscious adolescent girl and no more truthful or excoriating take on the perils of social mobility than in Curtis Sittenfeld’s beautiful first novel. I am overjoyed to be adapting for Netflix.”
Prep joins Netflix’s ever-growing, upcoming YA roster, which includes projects like The Sticks, The Body, Poser, and Sid & Zoey.
Author Sittenfeld revealed her thoughts about the adaptation with Netflix. She said, “Nicole’s adaptation makes me understand my own novel, and myself, better. My 51-year-old self can’t wait to see what they do with this story of privilege, longing, and teen angst.”
Netflix has not yet announced casting or an official premiere date for Prep.
Originally reported on ComingSoon.
