What’s the Status Of The 'A Court of Thorns and Roses' TV Series? Here’s What We Know.
Attention, romantasy fans: The highly anticipated TV adaptation of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is still in the works, apparently. Although plans for the Hulu television series were first announced in 2021, the millions of Maas’ die-hard fans have yet to see their beloved books leap to the screen. But that doesn’t mean the show is dead. As rumors swirl, here’s everything we know about the production so far—and why it seems to be taking so long.
What is A Court of Thorns and Roses about?
When Feyre, a 19-year-old mortal, accidentally kills what she believes to be a wolf (spoiler alert: it’s not), she unwittingly sets herself on a steamy and fantastical journey that brings her across the fairy-human border. In retribution for murdering his fellow faerie, immortal Tamlin captures Feyre, whom he imprisons in a land only heard of in legends. But, as a captive, a sultry relationship forms between Feyre and Tamlin, one of the high lords of the magical land of Prythian.
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First published in 2015, this novel is the first in Maas’ ACOTAR series. The titles that follow are: A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight, and A Court of Silver Flames.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
What’s the show’s current status?
The A Court of Thorns And Roses series was announced in March 2021, with Maas sharing the news that she was co-developing the show with showrunner Ronald D. Moore, and that they were writing the pilot together. But updates have been scarce since then; it’s also possible the ongoing pandemic and the actors and writers’ strikes of 2023 slowed things down. Thus, with an uncertain future, rumors bubbled up in February 2024 saying the series had been scrapped. However, this was soon debunked when outlets like Entertainment Weekly and Variety confirmed that ACOTAR is still in production at Hulu.
When asked about the status of the series and whether Maas was still involved, Craig Erwich, SVP of Content at Hulu, told reporters in February, 'That show has been in development, but I don’t have any news to share today.'
Variety reported shortly after that, though the show is still technically in development, it’s 'believed to no longer be in active development—which means it’s unclear what the fate of the project will be.' At the time, the title wasn’t being shopped around to other networks or streamers, but that could change if the project does get canceled at Hulu.
There weren’t any additional updates until Moore announced, in July 2024, that he had parted ways with the series.
Why did the showrunner drop out?
In late July 2024, during San Diego Comic-Con weekend, Outlander series creator Ronald D. Moore, who was set to be the showrunner of ACOTAR, announced he had exited the project. He told Entertainment Weekly that he was 'no longer working on it' because he left Disney and moved to Sony, and ACOTAR is a project from 20th Century Television and Disney (Hulu’s parent company).
He added, 'I had worked on it for a while but it was still in development, as they say, when I left. So I don’t know what the status is anymore.'
Okay, then who else might step in?
Don’t get your hopes up just yet, but it seems a least one major Hollywood power player is interested in the future of the series. Earlier this year, Barbie actress and producer Margot Robbie was photographed having coffee with Maas, and in a September 2024 interview with Harper’s BAZAAR, Robbie said she and Maas had 'become friends'. Asked if there was somehow she could help make the ACOTAR TV or movie adaptation happen, Robbie replied, 'We all need that—the world needs that. I’ll see what I can do.'
This story will be updated.
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