Breaking news that I just couldn’t wait to share!
Finally, after years of nothing on the news front there has movement about the television adaptation of Robert Galbraith’s, pseudonym for JK Rowling, novels about a army veteran detective. I’m 100% so excited about this development.
The man taking on the complex role of larger than life detective Cormoran Strike is Tom Burke, a veteran member of the BBC most famously known for his portrayal of Athos in the recent series adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ novel ‘The Three Musketeers’.
He’s the Strike I hadn’t even considered, but now can’t imagine as anyone else. He knows how to play brooding and withdrawn, is handsome enough to appeal to a whole new audience and talented enough to handle the role with ease. I agree wholeheartedly with this casting choice.
But just who is Cormoran Strike? Good question.
He’s a complex fellow with a broad and troubled background, toughened by a childhood life on the road and by serving in the army. When we first meet him he’s broken up with the love of his life, living in his office and verging on bankruptcy. To say he’s seen better days would be a slight understatement.
He’s a damaged soul with a lot of baggage- fighting through the mess of his life whilst trying to help others fix their own. It will be interesting to see how Burke goes about portraying him.
There are three novels in the series so far; ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’, ‘The Silkworm’ and ‘Career of Evil’- and all three are impossible to put down. I loved the twists and turns that Rowling, under the false name of Galbraith, has become known for, I loved the comradery between Strike and his assistant Robin, as well as the occasional tension in their relationship. It’s a fun mixture of the dark and dangerous combined with the bright lights of fame, a swirling of different classes coming together over one crime and people from all walkways of life becoming entangled as Strike and Robin try to solve the murder. They combine the past and the present flawlessly, breaking away at Cormoran’s tough exterior piece by piece so more of him is revealed and we can understand the character progressively.
There hasn’t been any other news on casting so far, and I’m personally most anxious to find out who they are going to cast in the role of Robin Ellacott, the female protagonist in the story and the ying to Strike’s yang. Her chemistry with Strike needs to be spot on all whilst needing to have the allure of being watchable on her own. Robin is not simply a secretary with good looks designed to be there simply for eye candy- she is so much more and whomever is cast needs to be able to be fast paced, intelligent and witty.
I have really high hopes for the series, which I believe is combining the three novels for hour long episodes. It’s a series that means a lot to me and helped me to transition from young adult fiction over to crime novels, introducing me to a whole new genre. It’s a lot of information and storyline to condense down into one hour but I trust that with Rowling’s company helping to produce the series, it’s in good hands.