ACOTAR TV Show News: Everything We Know About Hulu’s ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ Adaptation

A Court of Thorns and Roses (or ACOTAR as fans abbreviate it) is the start of one of the most intoxicating fantasy and romance series of the last decade. Sarah J. Maas’s best-selling book introduces readers to spirited huntress Feyre, who slays a rather willing wolf in the forest one day to save her starving family. This one act of desperation will soon pull her into a twisted version of “Beauty and the Beast,” where she’s held captive in the magical Summer Court by the masked faerie lord Tamlin. A Court of Thorns and Roses and its four subsequent books are sensual, incendiary, addicting fare tailor-made for a television adaptation. And what do you know? ACOTAR author has been developing A Court of Thorns and Roses show at Hulu with Outlander creator Ronald D. Moore.

Pre-production on Hulu’s A Court of Thorns and Roses has naturally been put on pause for the last four months thanks to the ongoing WGA strike. That doesn’t mean that its status hasn’t been at the forefront of ACOTAR fans. Who will play Feyre? Will someone hot play Tamlin? Would the TV version of A Court of Thorns and Roses give Rhysand and his Night Court coterie a bigger presence in Season 1? When will A Court of Thorns and Roses premiere on Hulu? Is the ACOTAR series even still happening?!

Here’s everything you need to know about Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses and everything we know so far about the ACOTAR show in development…

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Will There Be A Court of Thorns and Roses TV Series or Film? What’s Happening with ACOTAR at Hulu?

There have been several attempts to adapt Sarah J. Maas’s bestselling book A Court of Thorns and Roses for the screen. In 2015, Tempo optioned the film rights and by 2018 Maas teased a peek at the front page of the screenplay, written by Rachel Hirons. However, these plans eventually fell through.

Then, in 2021, we learned that Maas was working with Ronald D. Moore on a television adaptation of the series. Hulu head Craig Erwich told the press at Winter 2022 TCA that he had not seen scripts, but was hoping the books would provide a “great roadmap” for the series. (Some outlets have erroneously printed that this quote came from 2023, but it was 2022. How do I know that? CLICK THE LINK! I WAS THERE! I HEARD ERWICH SAY THIS IN 2022, NOT 2023!)

Last summer, Maas confirmed she was still working on the pilot with Moore in a New York Times profile. However, Maas has since deleted the Instagram post wherein she once confirmed news about the TV adaptation to her fans.

What does this all mean? Well, between the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, it’s possible the show has been put on the back burner for the time being. As soon as the AMPTP comes to the table with a reasonable deal for writers and actors, we might get news of an ACOTAR pick-up at Hulu. After all, the last journalists heard, it was still in development. However, the fact that Maas has deleted her post about working with Moore from Instagram is not great news… But let’s hope for the best, ACOTAR hive!

When Will the ACOTAR Show Premiere on Hulu?

If the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are magically resolved tomorrow and it turns out that Hulu has scripts they are ready to move on, the earliest release date A Court of Thorns and Roses could get is probably early 2025. Lavish fantasy series typically take at least 18 months to two years to produce a season.

Who’s in the ACOTAR Show Cast? Is Brec Bassinger Playing Feyre?

Since there’s no official word on a pilot or series pickup for A Court of Thorns and Roses at Hulu, it is too soon to know who is playing Feyre, her sisters Nesta and Elain, or the fae of the Summer and Night Courts.

That said, Stargirl and V.C. Andrews’s Dawn star Brec Bassinger made headlines in July 2023 when she told TV Line that she was actively campaigning for a role in the potential Hulu series.

“Literally, after I finished the first one, I emailed my team and I was like, ‘Listen, I don’t care if I have one line. I have to be a part of this,” she told TV Line. However Bassinger doesn’t have her eyes on playing Feyre, but one of her sisters.

“I’m not fiery enough for Nesta. I don’t present old enough for Feyre,” Bassinger said. “I feel like I’d make a good Elain, but I’ll be whoever.”

So let’s say you’ve never read a Sarah J. Maas book and don’t know the difference between your Feyres, Nestas, and Elains. Why are these books so popular?

@cotec.03

Never finished a book so fast🫶🏼 #fyp #acotarseries #acotar #foryoupage #reaction #reading #relatable #shocking

♬ original sound – ACOTAR MEMES

What is A Court of Thorns and Roses About?

A Court of Thorns and Roses takes place in an alternate world where magical beings exist. The most feared and powerful are the faeries, whom humans cower from in their own cordoned-off lands. The book’s 19-year-old heroine Feyre kills a wolf to save her family in winter and soon discovers she has committed a grave crime in the faerie world. Tamlin, High Fae and High Lord of the Summer Court takes Feyre as a prisoner in his lands in exchange for the wolf’s life. There, she discovers that the faerie world, divided into various courts, isn’t what she expected. A flirtation begins to blossom between Feyre and her captor before the machinations of the evil High Fae Aramantha shatters everything.

That’s just how ACOTAR begins, though. The series really takes off in subsequent books wherein Feyre visits the rival Night Court, ruled by another High Fae and High Lord named Rhysand.

The books are known for their magical world-building, sure, but more for their romance. Feyre isn’t the only character to find herself bewitched by a handsome face and the series eventually shifts focus to her tempestuous sister Nesta’s love life.

It’s unclear whether or not Sarah J. Maas will publish another novel focused on the world of ACOTAR, but her next book released will be the third installment of the Crescent City series. House of Flame and Shadow will be published on January 30, 2024 and I, for one, will be reading it. (And then texting my BookTok-watching besties about it.)