Matthew Macfadyen and Claire Foy will star in You Are Here, an eight-part adaptation of David Nicholls’ acclaimed, best-selling novel of the same name.
The BBC and Starz have greenlit the series, directed by Lenny Abrahamson (Normal People) and produced by Element Pictures.
Succession alum Macfadyen and The Crown‘s Foy will lead the cast as Michael and Marnie, respectively. When a mutual friend throws them together, the pair unexpectedly find themselves setting off on an epic walk.
Against the odds, they end up on the brink of a relationship that neither was looking for, but which might be exactly the one they both need. Michael and Marnie go coast-to-coast across the stunning — and soaking — English countryside, navigating an undeniable attraction that is as exhilarating as it is terrifying.
“I’m so delighted to be working on You Are Here with Element, the BBC, Starz and Lenny, whose work I’ve admired for many years,” said Nicholls, who also wrote the widely adapted One Day. “Matthew and Claire are both just dream casting, wonderful in comedy and drama, so detailed and thoughtful and sympathetic. The intention with the novel was to write a close-up study of a relationship, but set against this magnificent landscape, and that’s our ambition here too; to make something both intimate and epic, funny and dramatic, a romantic comedy with real emotion.”
Abrahamson added that the story is ultimately “deeply hopeful.” He said: “As a huge admirer of David’s writing, I’m delighted to be collaborating with him to bring You Are Here to the screen. The novel is such a beautiful love story — funny, profound and ultimately deeply hopeful. I’m also extremely excited to have Claire and Matthew, two actors I hugely admire, playing Michael and Marnie.”
Both Nicholls and Abrahamson also serve as executive producers alongside Foy and MacFadyen, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe and Emma Norton for Element Pictures and Jonny Richards and Anna Ferguson for the BBC. The series is produced by Clare Shepherd.
Global sales will be handled by Fremantle with De Maio Entertainment spearheading the partnership with Starz. Set along the Coast to Coast walking trail from the Lake District to Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire, U.K., You Are Here will be filmed in the Lake District and around Manchester.
