Two New Normal People Specials Could Finally Answer What Happens To Connell’s Chain & Marianne’s Bangs

Normal People is getting the Big Little Lies treatment and giving us a taste of what could happen to our favourite characters beyond the pages of its source material. The BBC adaptation of the Sally Rooney novel was a hit when it dropped back in April thanks to its heartbreaking romance and ahead-of-its-time sex scenes. Now, lucky viewers will get a chance to catch up with the characters in two Comic Relief special episodes set 40 years in the future.

The specials, which will air on RTÉ in Ireland and Northern Ireland 26th Friday June, feature both original actors Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, as well as one of the original directors, Lenny Abrahamson.

“There’s a beautiful piece called Normal Older People, which is imagining what would have happened to Marianne and Connell 40 years from now," Richard Curtis, the co-founder of Comic Relief, told RTÉ Radio 1, according to The Independent. “I promise you, these are two very special bits. It’s so much better than anything we’ve ever made. I mean, I can’t even say all about it, because there’s a guest star in it. But it’s really, really beautiful.”

It's unclear if the shorts will be available to UK viewers, since only viewers in Ireland and Northern Ireland will be able to watch it live. Hulu did not immediately respond to Refinery29's request for comment on whether or not the specials will be coming to the streaming service.

While the possibility of a full second season of Normal People is not in the cards, the same team is planning to adapt Rooney's other novel, Conversations With Friends.

"Obviously [it] is a cousin of Normal People in a way, but it's also quite different," Normal People co-producer Ed Guiney told The Hollywood Reporter. "We're actively developing that and Lenny [Abrahamson]'s going to direct the opening episodes of that again, and that's very exciting and a lovely thing to be working on during the lockdown."

With the specials airing so soon, it's unclear when they would have been filmed, considering the UK is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic. However, if Comic Relief is able to make Mescal and Edgar-Jones look 40 years older, then I guess anything is possible.