In This Article
- The Roles and the Creative Team
- The Novel Behind the Adaptation
- Moore's Adaptation Track Record and What to Watch
Netflix has confirmed the lead casting for its upcoming drama series adaptation of The God of the Woods, the 2024 novel by Liz Moore. According to Netflix Tudum, Maya Hawke and Kerry Condon will star in the production. Deadline first broke the news of Condon's casting exclusively, describing her as a BAFTA winner and Academy Award nominee whose recent credits include Train Dreams. Variety confirmed that Condon will star opposite Hawke in the project.
The Roles and the Creative Team
According to Wikipedia's entry on the novel, Hawke has been cast as Judy Luptack, while Condon will play Alice Van Laar — a character central to the story's class dynamics between a wealthy Adirondack family and the working community that depends on them. As reported by What's on Netflix, Condon's Alice Van Laar is a key figure in that conflict.
In a notable creative arrangement, Moore herself will co-showrun and executive-produce the series alongside screenwriter Liz Hannah, as Netflix Tudum reports. Wikipedia notes that the series adaptation — with Moore and Hannah attached as writers and producers — was first reported in July 2024, with the spring 2026 casting announcements marking a significant step forward in production.
The Novel Behind the Adaptation
The God of the Woods is a thriller set in the Adirondack Mountains, following the disappearance of a child from a summer camp on land controlled by the wealthy Van Laar family — and the secrets that resurface when another child goes missing years later, investigated in part by an inexperienced female detective, per Wikipedia. The novel appeared on The New York Times Best Seller List for 38 weeks as of April 2025, and the Times named it one of the best crime novels of the year, with its review calling it "more than just a mystery about children lost in the woods" and praising its depiction of parental grief as "acutely, painfully real." The New Yorker described it as an "expertly paced thriller" that "plays dexterously with the tension between the wealthy and the working class they employ." The Washington Post called it "chillingly astute about the invisible boundaries demarcating social class." For a full critical assessment of the book, see our review.
Moore's Adaptation Track Record and What to Watch
Moore is no stranger to seeing her fiction translated for the screen. As NPR reports, her previous novel Long Bright River was adapted into a Peacock series starring Amanda Seyfried. Speaking to NPR contributor Dave Davies, Moore discussed her involvement in the television version of The God of the Woods and her writing process more broadly. In a second NPR appearance, the adaptation was again confirmed as in development at Netflix. No premiere date has been announced by the streamer. Casting and production progress will be the key developments to follow as the project moves forward.