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With nan 2nd play of Apple TV and Hello Sunshine’s The Last Thing He Told Me play bid drawing to a adjacent today, it only made consciousness that Deadline sewage to chat via telephone pinch Lauren Neustadter, President of Film & TV astatine Reese Witherspoon’s accumulation institution Hello Sunshine, astir much upcoming shows — book adaptations and not — arsenic good arsenic films successful nan works, from accumulation connected The Nightingale group successful Budapest earlier this week.
The Tristar characteristic adjustment of Kristin Hannah’s best-selling caller is different task that took clip to propulsion together pinch a deal first put successful spot for a theatrical merchandise Christmas 2020 that fell isolated owed to COVID and past nan dual labour strikes successful Hollywood successful 2023. Hannah’s World War II caller became a Reese Witherspoon Book Club action successful March of 2023, and Deadline broke nan news of nan reignited task moving forward, still pinch some Elle and Dakota Fanning attached arsenic they had been since 2019, but pinch a few caller names successful nan mix down nan movie.
The Last Thing He Told Me was served a Season 2 renewal by Apple TV astir a twelvemonth aft nan show’s first play premiered, successful conjunction pinch writer Laura Dave’s committedness to pen a sequel caller revisiting nan world she wrote of connected and disconnected for 10 years — The First Time I Saw Him, which was Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club’s first sequel action for January 2026.
“It was a privilege to promote Laura to spell backmost into nan world of Hannah and Bailey and Owen. I deliberation nan fans really wanted it,” Neustadter told Deadline connected nan first time of April. “It was a really unsocial process nan full squad astatine Hello Sunshine recovered to beryllium really gratifying. Laura was penning her caller arsenic we were penning nan show. Of course, we had nan tremendous advantage of having Josh Singer, who happens to beryllium her husband, but besides an Oscar winning screenwriter, breaking nan play and penning it.”
With nan measurement Season 2’s finale ended, location whitethorn moreover beryllium momentum for a 3rd season, and Neustadter is connected board, on pinch stars Jennifer Garner and Judy Greer, who some expressed interest successful what could travel adjacent for their characters — who are now very astatine odds. Whether Dave would fresh different book into that puzzle is not yet clear.
“[Josh] and [Laura] were very successful sync astir everything that was going connected and nan large moves pinch Hannah, pinch Owen, pinch Bailey, arsenic nan [second] play unfolded and arsenic nan caller unfolded, but they were really very complimentary pieces of material,” Neustadter added. “We were ever checking successful pinch Laura. She was giving america glimpses of things arsenic we went along, and we ever understood what her hopes and goals and imagination and volition were. But she besides really trusted Josh and our writers to return nan communicative and tally pinch it and make it really rich | and cinematic. We really put our ft connected nan state successful play two. There’s truthful galore crippled twists and turns, you’re conscionable breathless, and you watch successful a measurement that is really thrilling for an audience.”
The Last Thing He Told Me Season 2 is by acold not nan first and, recently, not nan only show to travel pinch a companion sequel novel, though nan trend, arsenic it applies to Hello Sunshine projects, is absorbing to trace, from Season 3 of Big Little Lies accompanying Lianne Moriarty’s long-awaited sequel book, Big Little Truths, and Marissa Stapley’s Lucky, which is getting a small-screen adjustment connected Apple TV travel July, precocious receiving sequel news pinch Stapley’s Not So Lucky successful nan works.
In nan beneath interview, Neustadter teases upcoming shows for illustration Elle, retired July 1 connected Prime Video, and Lucky coming to Apple TV July 10 from Reese Witherspoon’s accumulation company. She besides gives position updates connected films successful improvement based connected Reese’s Book Club picks for illustration Curtis Sittenfield’s Romantic Comedy, Cesca Major’s Maybe Next Time and Claire Leslie Hall’s Broken Country arsenic good arsenic nan Jennifer Garner Mrs. Claus movie astatine Netflix.
DEADLINE: Elle, your Legally Blonde prequel bid pinch Prime Video already has a play 2 renewal.
LAUREN NEUSTADTER: Season two’s successful production. We’re shooting. Cameras are rolling correct now successful Vancouver.
DEADLINE: How did it consciousness to get that early renewal aft making play one, which hasn’t moreover been seen yet?
NEUSTADTER: We were really proud, and we were really grateful. Amazon has been truthful supportive. Reese really was nan 1 that had nan thought to spell backmost to nan 90s and meet up pinch Elle erstwhile she was successful precocious school. I deliberation she was watching nan messaging that was coming astatine this young procreation of women correct now and seeing what was happening connected societal media, and emotion for illustration young women request much awesome domiciled models. This is simply a infinitesimal to bring Elle backmost for them. This started pinch Reese saying, I deliberation nan world needs Elle Woods, and we should spot her successful precocious school.
We recovered our creator, Laura Kittrell, and past she has a co-showrunner Caroline Dries, who has been her partner ever since post-Upfronts.
We had developed thing pinch Laura successful nan first twelvemonth of Hello Sunshine successful 2017 — a book that was comparatively autobiographical — that unluckily didn’t get made. But we loved her voice, and we loved who she was arsenic a person. We had been really trying to find that adjacent thing. When we had this idea, we went to Laura, And we sewage successful location together and started brainstorming, and she came up pinch nan thought for this show. She wrote nan aviator really remarkably fast, and Amazon flipped for it, and they decided that they were fresh to spell and make nan show. We were disconnected to nan races. Caroline came successful to co-showrun.
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We had a awesome first season. We were very gratified to cognize that Amazon was arsenic enamored of it arsenic we were. The first play of nan show is [Elle’s] first semester of inferior year, truthful nan 2nd play is nan 2nd semester of inferior year. There was a upwind factor, we were eager to get nan upwind portion right, truthful Amazon was excited to support going. And everybody really conscionable wrote unbelievably good and unbelievably fast, and present we are making play two.
There’s a beautiful mother-daughter communicative for each of nan women that are person to my property who bought tickets, and saw Legally Blonde almost 25 years ago, we’re coming up connected nan 25th anniversary. They now person daughters, and I person a daughter, and I will beryllium truthful excited to watch nan show pinch my daughter, and besides pinch my son. It’s a multi-generational event. It’s truthful existent and authentic and funny and meaningful. My top dream and dream and wish is that parents will watch it pinch their kids. I deliberation nan world needs Elle Woods.
DEADLINE: And inferior twelvemonth is simply a stressful time! Will beryllium breathtaking to spot really that shines through. You person Lucky coming retired successful July, and I saw that Marissa Stapley is writing a sequel to her book. I’m wondering if you factored into that, for illustration pinch The Last Thing He Told Me, aliases if that’s a wholly abstracted thing?
NEUSTADTER: I mean, we’re each fans of books and movie and tv shows astatine Hello Sunshine, truthful erstwhile we autumn successful emotion pinch these characters, of course, we are ever going to spell backmost to nan writer and saying, “Is location much communicative here?”
I publication nan book successful 1 sitting. I perfectly loved it. I was really pinch Laura Dave arsenic I was reference nan book. I had a agelong level ride, and I was sitting adjacent to Laura Dave, and she was watching maine publication Lucky, and she’s really bully friends pinch Jonathan Tropper, who coiled up creating nan show. I recommended nan book to her, conscionable arsenic a pleasance read. And she publication it. She knew that I was sending it to Jonathan Tropper, and she really said to Jonathan Tropper really overmuch she loved it. So it’s each very interconnected.
It was specified a pleasance to get to activity pinch Jonathan Tropper and besides pinch Cassie Pappas, who came successful to co-showrun pinch him, and moving pinch Marissa Stapley, who is nan author, was besides really a joy, because location was a different benignant of spot autumn there. With Laura Dave and play 2 [of The Last Thing He Told Me], location was a full spot autumn successful position of, you guys spell disconnected and constitute nan show astatine nan aforesaid clip arsenic I’m going to constitute nan novel. Marissa was unbelievably supportive of america taking nan bosom and psyche of nan characteristic [Lucky] and putting her into an unapologetically propulsive, thrilling environment. It’s nan astir masculine power of thing that Hello Sunshine, has ever done. It’s a very afloat throttle show, arsenic you could spot from nan teaser, and there’s a awesome trailer that will follow.
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Marissa gave america support to return this characteristic and really push her to her limit. I respect truthful galore things astir Jonathan Tropper’s writing, but his action is truthful magnificent. You’ve sewage this incredibly beardown female character, wherever each of nan likelihood are against her, and she’s sewage to go. The stakes are unbelievably high. She’s successful threat everyplace she turns successful ways that she and we, nan audience, would ne'er expect, and we get to really spot what she’s made of.
As Marissa was reference nan scripts and seeing nan show travel to life — it was moreover earlier we changeable nan show — she called maine and she said, “How would you consciousness if I started reasoning astir a 2nd book?” And I said “We would beryllium truthful excited.” [Lucky nan TV show] ever conceived arsenic a constricted series, truthful that is perfectly nan measurement that it was made. But erstwhile an writer says, “I consciousness inspired to support going,” there’s genuinely nary greater compliment and thing much breathtaking for us, because we emotion these characters and we conscionable want to walk much clip pinch them.
DEADLINE: I person to inquire astir The Morning Show Season 5, you’ve assembled rather a cast for illustration you do each season, but wherever are you successful that process?
NEUSTADTER: Every azygous season, I’m blown distant by nan astonishing caller formed members: Jeff Daniels, Renee Rapp, Jessie Williams, Sean Hayes. It’s this unbelievable problem that we have. You think, “How could perchance get better?” And past each of these unbelievable actors join.
Reese and Jen person really awesome scenes together this season, and Charlotte Stoudt and I’m ever very impressed by really thoughtful Charlotte Stoudt and our writers are and conscionable really smart this show is.]
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We’re shooting correct now. We’re really having a array publication successful astir an hr and a half. Those are ever immoderate of my astir favourite moments erstwhile you get to hop connected a Soom and spot each of these unthinkable actors reference nan scripts and bringing them to life successful that first infinitesimal erstwhile you perceive nan words retired loud.
DEADLINE: I’m assuming there’ll beryllium a clip jump. Are location immoderate events aliases humanities happenings you’re excited for play 5 to tackle?
NEUSTADTER: I don’t deliberation I’m allowed to spoil anything. I deliberation that 1 of nan things that nan show does successful a really exceptional measurement is it taps into nan world that we are surviving in, and nan moments that consciousness for illustration they’re really delicate and important and real. This play is perfectly nary exception. I deliberation everything is being approached really thoughtfully.
DEADLINE: I person to inquire excessively astir Big Little Lies play three. There’s different book coming retired for that. Can you opportunity really that is going?
NEUSTADTER: We are excited. We perfectly emotion Lianne’s latest book. She did an unthinkable job. I deliberation fans are going to devour that book erstwhile it publishes later this year, and we’re moving away. It’s an breathtaking time.
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DEADLINE: Okay truthful we’ve talked TV. I did person a mates movie questions, too. Is nan Mrs. Claus movie pinch Jennifer Garner still happening?
NEUSTADTER: It’s still successful nan works. I was talking pinch her astir it today. That is decidedly thing that we are actively moving connected pinch awesome folks astatine Netflix and hoping that we get to spell to nan North Pole pinch Jennifer Garner soon. We are moving connected that pinch Jen and her awesome squad and hoping that that 1 comes together very quickly.
DEADLINE: Is location immoderate improvement pinch nan Romantic Comedy movie based connected Curtis Sittenfeld’s book pinch Jordan Weiss writing?
NEUSTADTER: And Dan Brier. There’s thing charismatic yet. It’s coming together.
DEADLINE: I wanted to cheque connected Broken Country too. I cognize that book is very popular, and there’s a movie woody successful spot pinch Sony 3000 Pictures.
NEUSTADTER: There is simply a movie woody successful place. We are moving connected that arsenic well. There’s thing really to opportunity astir it yet.
It is coming together. It’s specified a typical book, and I’m very excited to move into a into a movie. I deliberation it has nan imaginable to beryllium a book truthful overmuch for illustration Where The Crawdads Sing, wherever you get truthful swept up successful nan beautiful world, and nan really compelling characters. And Beth, who’s nan female astatine nan halfway of that communicative is specified a powerful and awesome female protagonist. And there’s a mystery, there’s a emotion story, there’s each of nan cleanable ingredients. We are moving connected that pinch Elizabeth Gabler and her squad astatine 3000 pictures.
DEADLINE: How about Maybe Next Time? I met Cesca [Major, nan writer of nan book] astatine nan very first Shine Away. How is that 1 going?
NEUSTADTER: This is maine being your book nine friend. Romantic Comedy is simply a delicious delight, Maybe Next Time is very beautiful and emotional, but it will make you cry. It’s epic romance, and truthful that is pinch our friends astatine Apple. We’re moving connected turning that 1 into a movie for you to watch.
DEADLINE: Oh and now past question, I person to bring it backmost to The Nightingale! What tin you opportunity astir that film, some Fanning sisters starring…?
NEUSTADTER: We emotion this book, and we consciousness truthful privileged to beryllium a portion of a squad that is turning it into a magnificent movie. And each azygous day, nan scenes are taking my activity away. It’s specified a gorgeous book, and it’s specified an important communicative to bring to life connected screen. [We’re] really grateful to Kristen Hanna for penning this astonishing book, and to Tristar for for being truthful committed to making nan film.”
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