East of Eden (miniseries)

Seven Episodes Give Steinbeck’s Families Room

Netflix’s East of Eden turns John Steinbeck’s sprawling 1952 novel into a seven-part miniseries. The longer format is a natural fit for a multigenerational saga built around Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and the ways love and rivalry echo through a family.

Zoe Kazan Revisits Her Grandfather’s Adaptation

Director Zoe Kazan is the granddaughter of Elia Kazan, who made the celebrated 1955 film with James Dean. She considers that movie a loose interpretation that marginalized or omitted characters she values, so her version aims for a broader and more nuanced relationship with the book.

Cathy Ames and Lee Return to the Center

Florence Pugh plays Cathy Ames with more room to explore the character beyond a simple villain. Hoon Lee portrays Lee, the Chinese American valet excluded from the earlier film, and receives a spotlight episode written by novelist Alexander Chee.

A Classic Adaptation With Family History Inside It

Christopher Abbott and Mike Faist join Pugh in the cast, but the most intriguing layer is behind the camera. A story about generations is being adapted by another generation of the same filmmaking family, this time with the explicit goal of recovering people the earlier version left at the margins.