Toni Morrison's Novel 'Sula' Will Be Turned Into an HBO Series

The 1973 Toni Morrison novel Sula will be honored with a limited series on HBO, created, written and executive-produced by Shannon M. Houston.

The 1973 novel Sula, written by acclaimed author and essayist Toni Morrison, will be given the HBO treatment. On Monday, it was announced that Sula – Morrison's second novel – will be developed in to a limited HBO series, created, written and executive produced by filmmaker and critic Shannon M. Houston (Little Fires Everywhere, Station Eleven, Lovecraft Country.) The series will also be developed via Stephanie Allain's Homegrown Pictures, in partnership with Warner Bros. Television Group and HBO.

Deadline reports that the series adaption of Sula will follow “two Black heroines from their close-knit childhood in a small Ohio neighborhood called The Bottom, through their sharply divergent paths of womanhood. Nel Wright has chosen to marry, raise a family and become a pillar of the Black community. Sula Peace has rejected the life Nel has embraced, escaping from The Bottom, submerging herself in city life, and coming into her own as a woman more intellectually and sexually free than anyone around her. Eventually, Sula and Nel must face the consequences of their choices, and their complicated bond. Along with a mysterious third man named Shadrack, they create an unforgettable portrait of a strange American community, and the relationships, tragedies and triumphs that define it."

Morrison died in August 2019 at 88-years-old from complications of pneumonia. During her illustrious career, Morrison wrote eleven novels, including 1987’s Beloved adapted into a film of the same name starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover. In 2012, Morrison was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which former President Barack Obama presented. The final book Morrison wrote was 2015’s God Help the Child.