The 2012 novel Dare Me is getting the television treatment.
The novel from Megan Abbott explores the themes of friendship, sexuality, competition, murder and power through the world of high school cheerleading. But Abbott and Gina Fattore, the creative team behind the adaptation, opted to make it a coming-of-age drama rather than a crime series.
“We were always much more interested in the ‘internalities’ of adolescence, rather than the things that technology or social media change. You date yourself so quickly if you focus too much [on the latter], so we really tried to focus on the elements of being a young woman with feelings of yearning, the desire for more experience, that sense of wanting things that are just beyond your reach, and the feeling that you have power but also being thrown into situations where you’re suddenly aware of your powerlessness,” Abbott told Variety.
“I have told coming-of-age stories on so many shows; it’s really my favorite kind of show. I looked at the book in that way and saw instantly the chance to make the first season really a classic coming-of-age story about a relationship with an older person that changes your life,” Fattore added.
“Sometimes that’s a romantic relationship, but sometimes it’s not, and in this case it’s a mentor relationship. That territory felt perfectly applicable to TV.”
Dare Me premiered on USA on December 29th.
