With the world in various levels of lockdown, it's safe to say you won't be embarking on any whirlwind romances soon. Don't worry, though, Normal People wants you to live vicariously through it and then some. Hulu released its first trailer for the series adaptation of Sally Rooney's hit book on Tuesday, and it's one steamy, tearful escape fantasy for all those in quarantine.
Rooney's book tells the story of Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (Paul Mescal), two high school students who share an illicit romance from across a social divide — Connell a popular athlete while Marianne's an unlikable outcast. Connell's mother cleans the house of Marianne's rich, but broken, family, and their vague acquaintance turns into a romance that Connell insists they hide from his popular friends.
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The switch is flipped, however, when they both wind up at the same college. Now, Marianne is thriving, and she may have just moved on from the boy in high school who broke her heart. Over the years we follow their tangled romantic web. Thanks to Hulu, that means a series of increasingly intimate sex scenes.
As Connell and Marianne struggle to figure out what they are through the complications of class and clashing social circles, they're each battling their own inner demons. No matter how things change in their lives, though, they always find their way back to each other — for better or worse. But usually without clothes.
The stark drama has been adapted into a series by Rooney and writers Alice Birch and Mark O’Rowe. Room's Lenny Abrahamson is directing the first six episodes, with Hettie McDonald directing the last six.
Normal People will premiere on April 26 on BBC Three in the UK and April 29 on Hulu in the US. Watch Hulu's trailer below.