During a break from the production of their new series The Rachel Incident, author Caroline O’Donoghue along with producers Matt Jordan Smith and Chelsea Morgan Hoffman shared insights into the series’ development and the complexities of transforming a novel into a television show.
At the Storyhouse screenwriting festival in Dublin, with a panel led by Morgan Hoffman at the Light House Cinema, O’Donoghue discussed with attendees the inevitable failures that come with mastering screenwriting.
“As a novelist, my failures are out there for everyone to see, sitting on bookshelves,” O’Donoghue remarked. “But my attempts at screenwriting are less visible, mostly because they haven’t been successful.”
O’Donoghue, an Irish writer, has penned seven novels, predominantly aimed at young adults, with her first book for adults, The Rachel Incident, becoming a bestseller.
“I’ve written numerous books that didn’t do well because I always chose to write what felt right to me,” she explained. “Following trends or the latest popular topic on TikTok isn’t sustainable; they’re fleeting. It’s crucial to be true to oneself. This approach has led to both successes and failures, none of which I regret because the joy of creation remains constant.”
Set in Cork in 2010, The Rachel Incident follows a bookstore-working student who befriends and eventually rooms with the vibrant and unequivocally straight James. Their friendship deepens when James devises a plan to help her impress her professor during a book launch, hoping it would lead to romance.
The show, currently under production by Channel 4, Universal Content Production, and Element Pictures, features actors Máiréad Tyers, Ellis Howard, Sarah Greene, and Daniel Ings.
Adapting her own novel for television posed unique challenges for O’Donoghue. “Writing a novel is a solitary and tough job where you control everything,” she said. “However, adapting that into a multiple-episode TV series, complete with commercial breaks, required significant changes. For instance, unlike the book which is written from Rachel’s perspective, the series needed to explore multiple viewpoints to fully capture the essence of the relationships.”
Matt Jordan Smith, leading Elliot Page’s Page Boy Productions, shared his initial reaction to the novel. “As a gay man, the portrayal of the essential women in my life and their impact was depicted so authentically and beautifully in Caroline’s book. The story’s raw and genuine depiction of love and respect was profoundly moving. I was so drawn to it, and I knew it would be highly sought after. So, I prepared extensively, presented my vision to Caroline, and expressed my deep connection and commitment to the project,” he recounted.
When asked about any hesitations in letting O’Donoghue adapt her own book, Jordan Smith confidently responded, “Caroline’s unique voice and storytelling ability are evident. It’s rare to encounter such distinctiveness, and I never doubted her capability to adapt her novel into a screenplay, a skepticism often seen among producers, especially from a network background.”
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