CBC has greenlit ANNE, an exceptional, new television series based on the timeless children’s novel Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The international co-production will see 2016 Golden Globe-nominee and Emmy® Award-winning Breaking Bad alum Moira Walley-Beckett and fellow Canadian producer Miranda de Pencier join forces with Alison Owen (Temple Grandin) and Debra Hayward’s (Pride and Prejudice) U.K.-based Monumental Pictures to bring the series to life. ANNE is expected to begin production this spring and will debut on CBC-TV in 2017 with eight episodes.
At its heart, ANNE is a coming-of-age story about an outsider who, against all odds and numerous challenges, fights for acceptance, for her place in the world and for love. The drama series centres on a young orphaned girl who, after an abusive childhood spent in orphanages and the homes of strangers, is mistakenly sent to live with an elderly spinster and her aging brother. Over time, 13-year-old Anne will transform their lives and eventually the small town in which they live, with her unique spirit, fierce intellect and brilliant imagination. While the new series will follow a similar storyline to the book that millions of readers around the world know and love, it will also chart new territory. Anne and the rest of the characters in and around Green Gables will experience new adventures reflecting timeless issues, including themes of identity, sexism, bullying, prejudice, and trusting one’s self.
