Karin Slaughter absolutely refused adapting her novel The Good Daughter, then wrote the whole series

A private change of heart

When Bruna Papandrea asked Slaughter about adapting one of her novels herself, the author initially declined, saying she did not have time. Slaughter had already seen Pieces of Her adapted for Netflix by Charlotte Stoudt and Will Trent developed for ABC by Liz Heldens.

But the idea of writing an adaptation stayed with her. Slaughter began drafting the scripts without telling anyone, worried that she might not do a good job.

Writing before she pitched

Slaughter eventually told her agent about the scripts but asked that Papandrea and others not be informed yet. She wanted to develop the project before anyone sought an option on the book.

Papandrea backs the scripts

After completing the scripts, Slaughter returned to Papandrea with the project. She said Papandrea could decide whether to proceed and that she had not spent the producer’s time or money on an option.

Papandrea read the scripts overnight and agreed to move forward. Slaughter wrote all six episodes of The Good Daughter and serves as its showrunner and an executive producer.

The Peacock adaptation

The Good Daughter adapts Slaughter’s 2017 bestseller as a six-episode Peacock series. All episodes are scheduled to be released on Nov. 12. Slaughter is the sole writer on the series. The adaptation brings the novel to television under the direction of the author who wrote the scripts herself.