Octavia E. Butler’s ‘Kindred’ Is Being Adapted By Branden Jacobs-Jenkins For FX

FX has ordered a pilot for Octavia E. Butler’s 1979 classic novel Kindred, which will be written and produced by playwright and Pulitzer Prize finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.

According to Variety, the show will follow Dana, a young Black aspiring writer who has left her constricted familial life behind and relocated to Los Angeles to chase her dreams. But shortly after arriving, she finds herself being vehemently pulled back and forth in time to a nineteenth-century plantation where she and her family are intimately linked in surprising ways. There’s an interracial romance that is woven through the past and present, and Dana must wrestle with shocking secrets within her family as time runs out. 

“Since my first encounter with the novel nearly two decades ago, there have been few, if any, books and even fewer authors who have meant as much to me as ‘Kindred’ and Octavia Butler,” Jacobs-Jenkins told Variety. “It has been the highlight and honor of my career thus far to try and finally bring this timeless story to life – and especially at FX, whose catalogue of bold, thought-provoking, and cutting-edge television has been an endless source of inspiration and delight.”

Jacobs-Jenkins will be joined by executive producer Courtney Lee Mitchell, who acquired the rights to the book in 2008, along with The Americans creators Joe Weisberg and Joel Field, and Darren Aronofsky.“The Octavia E. Butler Estate was thrilled and grateful to have placed Kindred with Courtney Lee Mitchell at the outset, who brought it to Branden Jacobs Jenkins (a young writer who shares with Octavia the rare honor of being a MacArthur ‘Genius’ Award recipient) and then to the terrific people at Protozoa,” said the author’s estate. “FX could not be a better or more enthusiastic partner, as evidenced by the brilliant creative team they are building, and the legendary slate of shows they have produced. We can’t wait to see this beloved work take its place among the stars in the FX universe.”