Netflix to adapt Jhumpa Lahiri's short story collection 'Unaccustomed Earth'

Jhumpa Lahiri fans may have something to rejoice. Netflix is working on a series adaptation of Unaccustomed Earth, the short story collection of the esteemed British author of Indian origin. John Wells, the creator of the acclaimed HBO Max show, The Pitt, is developing it. Wells, also known for the popular medical drama series ER and the comedy-drama series Shameless, is involved as a writer, showrunner and executive producer.

Netflix's official logline for the adaptation, which has Lahiri attached as one of the executive producers, describes it as "an epic, soapy drama about a tight-knit immigrant community navigating love, desire, and belonging. When a star-crossed romance between a devoted wife and her long-lost love comes to light, a scandalous affair is born, and new battle lines are drawn in the elite, insular Indian American community of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Rich with passion and unforgettable characters, Unaccustomed Earth is an intimate, nuanced look inside a tight-knit community."

Wells is backing the project through his John Wells Productions jointly with Warner Bros. Television. Also involved in the team are writer and executive producer Madhuri Shekar (of Netflix's 3 Body Problem) and Nisha Ganatra (Freakier Friday, Late Night), who will direct the first episode and serve as co-executive producer.

It's worth noting that Wells previously partnered with Netflix and Warner Bros. Television for the widely praised limited series Maid (starring Margaret Qualley) and an in-production miniseries titled Untamed.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning author (for the short story collection Interpreter of Maladies), Lahiri is also known for The Namesake, which got a film adaptation directed by Mira Nair and starring Irrfan Khan and Tabu.

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