Rachel Weisz will star in a Netflix series adaptation of Julia May Jonas’ Vladimir, the streaming service announced in a news release.
Jonas’ debut novel, published in 2022 by Avid Reader Press, follows an English professor at a small liberal arts college whose husband, also a professor, is accused of inappropriate conduct by several students. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus wrote of the book, “Like the man she shackles to a chair in the prologue, once this narrator has you, she won’t let go. A remarkable debut.”
Weisz, known for her roles in films including The Mummy, About a Boy, and The Constant Gardener, will star in the series, to be written by Jonas and Kate Robin (Six Feet Under, Dead to Me). Weisz, Jonas, and Robin will serve as executive producers alongside Sharon Horgan (Pulling, Catastrophe). Producing the series will be the entertainment companies Merman and Small Dog.
“I fell in love with Julia’s writing from the very first paragraph,” Horgan said. “I feel very lucky and incredibly excited for Merman to bring Vladimir to life alongside Small Dog. Getting to partner with Netflix and have Rachel attached is a thrill, and testament to the brilliance of the scripts.”
Tracey Pakosta, Netflix’s vice president of comedy series, said, “With Kate Robin’s expertise in crafting layered, darkly comedic female stories, a script that deftly examines the complexity of attraction and moral ambiguities, and the incomparable Rachel Weisz leading the cast, this project is a powerhouse collaboration of talented women. We can’t wait for our fans to be as obsessed with Vladimir as we are.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
