Netflix finally moves on The Corrections

Netflix has officially ordered the limited series adaptation of Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections, with Meryl Streep set to star, a development Variety has confirmed. Because apparently one prestige family drama was not enough for the streaming era.

The project had been circulating on the market in late 2024. Now it has a home, and a fairly prominent one at that.

Franzen will adapt his own novel for television and also executive produce. Streep will executive produce in addition to starring. Cord Jefferson, who won acclaim for American Fiction and worked on Watchmen, will executive produce and direct every episode.

Mark Roybal and Paul Lee are executive producing for wiip, alongside Nicole Clemens. Paramount Television Studios will produce.

What the series is about

The show’s official logline describes it as “a sharply comic portrait of a Midwestern family whose three unmoored adult siblings desperately resist their mother’s wish for one last Christmas together, each undone by the delusional ambitions that were supposed to save them from becoming their parents.”

So yes, it is family harmony, if your idea of harmony includes denial, resentment and a holiday gathering that everyone would clearly rather postpone.

A novel Hollywood has chased before

The Corrections was first published in 2001 and has been a tempting adaptation target for years. It is not the first time Hollywood has tried to bring it to the screen.

A film version was once in development, but it never got off the ground. Later, HBO ordered a pilot based on the book in 2011. That version had Chris Cooper, Dianne Wiest and Ewan McGregor attached to star. In 2012, HBO decided not to move forward with the pilot as a series.

Now Netflix is taking another run at material that has already outlasted at least one movie plan and one HBO pilot. Persistence, it turns out, is sometimes the most powerful development executive.

Another major TV turn for Streep

This marks another significant television role for Streep in recent years. She appeared in Seasons 3 and 4 of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, and her performance earned her both Golden Globe and Emmy nominations.

She also starred in HBO’s Big Little Lies, which brought her more Globe and Emmy recognition.

Streep is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of her generation, and the résumé reflects the reputation. She has earned 21 Academy Award nominations, the most of any performer in Oscar history, and has won three times for Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie’s Choice and The Iron Lady.

Representation

Streep is represented by CAA and Gendler, Kelly & Cunningham. Jefferson is represented by CAA, 3 Arts and Ziffren Brittenham. Franzen is represented by The Gotham Group, Writers House and attorney Alex Kohner.