"After That Year" expands character arcs little explored in the book
Prime Video's new series, "After That Year", is an adaptation of the book "After That Year", by Carley Fortune, and expands the universe of some characters that were little explored in the original story. The production hit streaming on Wednesday (10).
Chantal (Aurora Perrineau) and Jordie (Joseph Chiu) are the best friends of the protagonist couple Percy Frase (Sadie Soverall) and Sam Florek (Matt Cornett) and gained more screen time and their own plots in the series.
In an interview with CNN Brasil, the actors who play these characters said that they approached the mission of building Chantal and Jordie without so many references from the book with great excitement, as they had the chance to explore their own paths.
"In the book, Chantal only appears in phone calls, so this is a really big expansion for the character. And I think it's really exciting because it ends up giving Sadie's character Percy someone to lean on during the trip to Barry's Bay. I also think it creates a little more friction between some of the characters, which is fun," said Aurora.
Joseph Chiu, for example, said he had the chance to put some of his personality into Jordie, who is only mentioned three times in Carley Fortune's book.
"In terms of function in the story and in the writing, Geordie is to Sam what Chantal is to Percy. In the book, I think Geordie is only mentioned three times. So for me, the question was how much I wanted to develop this character and also put some of my own personality into it."
Aurora also highlighted the importance of Chantal and Jordie, who appear in the story as pillars of support for Percy and Sam. In the plot, the two support the couple and help tie the narrative together.
"You want to make sure fans feel like they're getting what they love about the book from the series. So it was important to make sure we were supporting the characters of Percy and Sam as best we could and helping to develop their story as it happens in the book," he said.
"Maybe provide some comic relief."
"After That Year" follows a love story that unfolds over six years and one week in Barry's Bay, a small lakeside town in Canada. The plot explores the encounters and disagreements of its protagonists, showing how decisions made in youth can echo throughout life and influence the future in different ways.
Based on Carley Fortune's best-seller, the series mixes romance, nostalgia and coming of age in a narrative that alternates different moments in the characters' lives. The book that inspired the production spent 16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, sold more than 1 million copies and became a phenomenon on social media, especially on TikTok.
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Source: CNN