Hulu Scraps Adaptation of Hit Book ‘A Court of Thorn and Roses’

Hulu is not moving forward with its adaptation of Sarah J. Maas’ bestselling fantasy romance book series A Court of Thorns and Roses. Produced by Disney’s 20th Television and set to be Hulu’s fantasy series, the ACOTAR series had been in the development stage since March 2021, but after four years with little updates, a source confirmed to TVLine that Hulu has scrapped the show. The streamer hasn’t addressed the report at this time.

Based on Maas’ popular book series, the highly-anticipated show was described as “a loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast” that “blends epic romance, adventure, and political intrigue in a tale of a huntress who agrees to travel to a magical realm with a faerie lord in return for her family’s safety, only to fall for him and ultimately fight for that love when an ancient curse threatens to destroy the faerie and human realms.”

Hulu ordered the series adaptation in March 2021. At the time, Deadline reported that the project had received a script commitment plus significant penalty, with Maas and Ronald D. Moore set to co-write the pilot and executive produce alongside Maril Davis via Moore’s Tall Ship Prods. On Instagram at the time, Moore said he was “currently hard at work writing the pilot with Ron (!!!!!), and while there is SO much more news to share with you guys about bringing this series to life, it just feels so great to finally be able to talk about this! Stay tuned for more details!!”

However, the series had largely been in limbo since Summer 2023, when the writers and actors strikes put a pause to most scripted production and development. Although Moore said while promoting Season 4 of Apple TV+’s For All Mankind that the show was “still in development” and “we’ve written some scripts,” TVLine reported in February last year that the series had been scrapped and would not be shopped to different platforms. A subsequent report from Variety cited sources who claimed the show was still “in the works” but no longer in active development.

It’s unclear why Hulu has dropped the project, but Variety reported that hope isn’t completely lost. According to the outlet, Maas intends to shop the TV adaptation rights to a different studio and platform once the option has expired at Disney, though it’s unclear if the ACOTAR show will find a new home.

Maas kicked off her A Court of Thorns and Roses fantasy series in 2015 with the release of the title book, which centered around 19-year-old Feyre Archeron after she is brought into the faerie lands of Prythian. It was followed by A Court of Mist and Fury in 2016, A Court of Wings and Ruin (2017), A Court of Frost and Starlight (2018), and 2021’s most recent installment, A Court of Silver Flames. A sixth installment is currently in the works.