Netflix is looking back to an early-2000s literary hit for its next television adaptation. The streaming giant is developing a new series based on The Nanny Diaries, the bestselling 2002 novel written by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus.
Scarlett Johansson, who previously starred in the 2007 film version of The Nanny Diaries, is attached to the project as an executive producer. The upcoming series is being developed by Warner Bros. Television in collaboration with Berlanti Productions.
While the original film largely stayed true to the novel’s storyline, the television adaptation appears to be taking a fresh approach. According to the official description, the series will follow Annie, a struggling writer desperate for inspiration, who takes a job as a nanny for a captivating socialite living on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Her new role pulls her into a world of staggering wealth and privilege far removed from her own reality.
The story takes an intriguing turn when Annie secures the book deal she has always dreamed of. She agrees to go undercover to reveal the scandalous secrets of the ultra-wealthy, forcing her to balance two conflicting lives. As she becomes emotionally attached to the family she works for—and increasingly immersed in their glamorous lifestyle—Annie also begins to uncover unsettling truths about her mysterious employer.
The novel that inspired the series was famously drawn from real-life experiences. Both McLaughlin and Kraus previously worked as nannies, using their firsthand observations of affluent households as the foundation for the satirical and sharply observed story that became a bestseller.
