Hulu snags new series from Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington

Hulu has snagged a new limited series from Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington barely a week after the two tweeted that it was up for grabs. The eight-episode show will adapt and take its title from Celeste Ng's bestselling 2017 book Little Fires Everywhere, a novel about family drama and racial tension in a 1990s suburb outside of Cleveland.

Witherspoon chose Little Fires Everywhere for her book club back in September, and her company Hello Sunshine secured the rights shortly thereafter. It, along with Kerry's Simpson Street, will produce the eight-episode series, and both actresses will also star. Liz Tigelaar (LIfe Unexpected, Hulu's Casual) will adapt it and serve as showrunner. A bidding war reportedly broke out over who would get the show, and studio execs were allegedly eager enough to visit Hello Sunshine's offices rather than let producers come to them.

It's a bit of a surprise that the show ended up at Hulu instead of Apple, which has secured three scripted series from Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine in the last six months. Given the enthusiasm for the project, perhaps Hulu simply outbid the others: Execs reportedly asked to take the package off the table, but Witherspoon's team insisted that they show the pitch to all potential buyers, assumedly to ensure the best fit.