Showtime has made a series commitment to Three Women, a series based on Lisa Taddeo’s nonfiction book of the same name, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Taddeo will serve as a writer and executive producer of the series. The show will still require a formal series order prior to being aired.
The book is the result of Taddeo’s research on three ordinary American women from different regions and backgrounds. The stories in Three Women include a stay-at-home mom whose marriage is not the same as it used to be, a 17-year-old student who talks about her past affair with her teacher, and a restaurant owner whose husband does not mind watching her while she is having affairs.
“In this time when gender relations are under thorough re-examination and introspection, Lisa Taddeo has written the book of the moment,” said Jana Winograde, the president of Showtime Entertainment. “Her work fits seamlessly with the Showtime sensibility for exploring provocative and meaningful issues onscreen, and we are beside ourselves with excitement at partnering with Lisa to explore these characters and themes.”
“It is both a feat of journalism and a triumph of storytelling, brimming with nuance and empathy, that introduces us to three unforgettable women — and one remarkable writer — whose experiences remind us that we are not alone,” Simon & Schuster wrote in the book’s description.
Although, in the beginning, Taddeo’s book was not only about women. “I’d been writing for Esquire lot and I was very in tune with this male audience,” Taddeo told EW. “It was the opposite gender from mine, and I was intrigued by it. But then I started talking to a lot of men. The stories started to feel — there was a lot of ego involved. Not in all the men, but in a lot of it. Women felt more complex and interesting.”
Taddeo hopes her book will help people be more open-minded. “We always condemn other people, like we’re picking out paint swatches,” Taddeo said. “We look at a friend who’s strung up on some person and we’re like, ‘Oh, why are you doing that?’”
Three Women is Taddeo’s first non-fiction book. She has traveled across the country to meet the women that are featured in her book, which was published this summer after 10 years of research, reporting, and writing.
Taddeo’s fiction has been published in Notre Dame Review, Granta, The Sewanee Review, New England Review, Esquire, and The Sun Magazine. Her nonfiction work has been published in New York Magazine, Esquire, Elle Magazine, The New York Observer, The Sun Magazine, and Glamour Magazine.