East of Eden Introduces Its Monster

Young readers who watched Wuthering Heights earlier this year and thought Margot Robbie’s bratty, lovestruck Cathy had to be the most difficult Cathy in literature are in for a rude awakening this fall. Everybody, meet Cathy Ames, destroyer of worlds. Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of John Steinbeck’s 20th-century classic East of Eden is led by Florence Pugh as Cathy, and she is doing what Pugh does best: reciting a monologue. “I believe there are monsters born in this world to human parents,” she says in the trailer. “A monster is a variation from the accepted normal. A child may be born perfect, but without kindness or conscience.” Then, the trailer cuts to her introducing herself to an unsuspecting Adam Trask (Christopher Abbott). “You may call me Cathy,” she tells him. He doesn’t stand a chance.

This new version of Eden was created by Zoe Kazan, whose grandfather, Elia Kazan, directed the original film adaptation of the novel. Zoe Kazan has done a bit of reconstruction work on the project, focusing it specifically on Cathy, an “anti-hero.” “The thing that was really important to me was to stay rooted in the text of the book when it came to exploring who Cathy is,” Kazan told Tudum. “Basically everything that’s in the series has at least a root in the book.” Pugh and Abbott are joined by Mike Faist as Adam’s brother, Tracy Letts as their father, and Joe Anders and Joseph Zada as Adam’s sons Aron and Cal, respectively. The nonfamily cast includes Hoon Lee as Lee, Martha Plimpton as Faye, and Ciarán Hinds as Samuel. See how they all interact with Cathy when the series debuts on Big Red on October 1.