Heyday Television, Alan Yang & Bekah Brunstetter Adapting Carolyn Huynh’s Novel ‘The Fortunes Of Jaded Women’ As TV Series
EXCLUSIVE: Carolyn Huynh’s debut novel, The Fortunes of Jaded Women, is being adapted as a TV series.
Universal International Studios (UIS)-owned Heyday Television, in partnership with Universal Television, acquired the rights in what’s been called a “highly competitive situation.”
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Heyday boss David Heyman partnered with Alan Yang (Loot, Master of None, Parks and Recreation, The Good Place) to option the book, and work has begun to set it up for television. Huynh and Bekah Brunstetter will adapt the novel. Heyday and UIS, which is part of Universal Studio Group, will make the show in partnership with Universal Television.
Atria Books published The Fortunes of Jaded Women in the U.S. in 2022. The plot explores how tradition and superstition impacts modern life, and the novel was selected as the Washington Post’s Best Feel-Good Book of the Year.
Synopsis reads: “It started with their ancestor Oanh, who dared to leave her marriage for true love — so a fearsome Vietnamese witch cursed Oanh and her descendants so that they would never find love or happiness, and the Duong women would give birth to daughters, never sons. Desperate for guidance, Mai Nguyen, Oanh’s current descendant, consults Auntie Hua, her trusted psychic in Hawaii, who delivers an unexpected prediction: this year, her family will witness a marriage, a funeral, and the birth of a son. This prophecy will reunite estranged mothers, daughters, aunts, and cousins — or better or for worse.”
Its LA-based writer Huynh has built a reputation for writing about complicated Asian women, and has a second novel, The Family Recipe, coming from Atria in 2025. “I’m thrilled and ‘fortunate’ to be working on the adaptation of my debut, The Fortunes of Jaded Women, alongside Heyday Television, Universal International Studios, the illustrious Bekah Brunstetter, with Alan Yang’s thoughtful producing,” she said. “I can’t think of a better home to bring these Vietnamese women to life and pay respectful homage to Little Saigon and Orange County.”
For Yang, this comes just a month after he signed an exclusive overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group, as we revealed at the time. He had been with NBCU for his entire career up to that point. An NBCU rep confirmed the Jaded Women deal falls outside of the Warners agreement as it was struck prior to that pact beginning.
“The Fortunes of Jaded Women is a fresh, funny, singular book overflowing with imagination and messy, relatable family drama,” said Yang. “I love how it shines such a unique spotlight on Vietnam and the Vietnamese diaspora. Together with Carolyn, Bekah and David, I look forward to bringing these winning, flawed, human characters to television.”
The acquisition is the second novel pick-up for Heyday in just over a month. In June, the UK-based production house acquired rights to Gillian MacAllister’s international best-seller Just Another Missing Person, attaching Georgia Pritchett to adapt it for TV. The book-to-TV market remains red hot, with Heyday parent UIS among the most acquisitive in the past year.
Tony- and Emmy-nominated writer and producer Brunstetter has written scripts for This is Us, Maid and Netflix’s upcoming series Sirens, and developed pilots with Hulu, FX and Apple. She is currently adapting Elin Hildebrand’s novel Five Star Weekend with UCP for NBCU streamer Peacock, while he music adaptation of The Notebook is currently on Broadway.
Huynh is represented by New Leaf Literary & Media, Range Media Partners, and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Feldman, Rogal, Shikora & Clark Inc. Yang is represented by Cori Wellins at WME and McKuin, Frankel and Whitehead. Brunstetter is represented by Ryan Draizin and Lindsay Aubin on behalf of WME, The Shuman Company and Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin Dunham.
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