Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck's magnum opus, East of Eden, will soon be available on Netflix in an enchanting new series adaptation. Expect mind-bending nuances of love, betrayal, and a saga of family legacy that spans generations, delivered by Tinseltown's finest actors like Florence Pugh. 

Steinbeck's startling emotional depth and the great rivalry between brothers have secured East of Eden's place among the greatest pieces of literature of all time. And now Netflix finally adapts the epic saga into an addictive drama, with equally great artistry and unbeatable performances.

Dive into the epic American family drama coming straight from the pages to the screen.

East of Eden packs the vast story of the novel into a limited series tribute to John Steinbeck, exploring the multi-generational Trask family saga through the female protagonist's perspective. Netflix gained the rights to Steinbeck's novel back in 2022.

According to What's on Netflix, the series reportedly contains seven parts, with each episode titled Genesis, Cathy, In the Valley, Kate, Departure, The Great Try, and East of Eden. Florence Pugh takes the lead role of Cathy Ames, while Christopher Abbott is Adam Trask, Mike Faist is Charles Trask, and Hoon Lee is Lee, Adam's Chinese-American servant and neighbor.

Martha Plimpton of The Goonies, Ciarán Hinds from Game of Thrones, Lady Bird's Tracy Letts, Joseph Zada from The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, and more round out the cast of Netflix's East of Eden. With a new take on the novel, Zoe Kazan, who is also the executive producer, carried on her grandfather Elia Kazan's legacy, who directed the 1955 film version, East of Eden, per Tudum. 

Netflix has been diligent in assembling the series's creative team around Kazan's strong devotion to the source material. Garth Davis directs Episodes 1–4, and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre directs Episodes 5-7, bringing to life the dark side of the California dream.  

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With Netflix taking in the project, where was East of Eden shot?

Netflix's retelling of the classic novel began filming in New Zealand in mid-October 2024. The series is set in the Salinas Valley in California, per the novel. However, New Zealand's Dunedin and Oamaru, as well as Auckland, served as the primary filming locations for the series.

Meanwhile, local businesses in Oamaru had dropped crumbs of behind-the-scenes production throughout, such as remodeled storefronts and harbour areas. The production continued through the middle of March 2025, which ignited anticipation among readers.

For those who are yet to read the novel, East of Eden presents a brutal story of two families' intertwined destinies and more.  

Not to be confused with the famous 2008 ₩25 billion K-drama of the same name, East of Eden is a new addition to Netflix's gripping storytelling with dramas. At its core, the story follows the Trask family saga, which spans over several generations and one family living in California’s Salinas Valley, post-Civil War.

The Trasks and the Hamiltons find their fates co-mingled in the most haunting manner, re-enacting the fall of Adam and Eve and the rivalry of Cain and Abel across generations. The plot denotes the entangled lives of two brothers, Adam and Charles Trask, whose rivalry and mutual hatred are made more complex by the presence of the mysterious Cathy Ames. Ames is evil, manipulative, and her involvement alters their fate. 

Although the story is very much tied to its historical background, the author deals with the issues that are still considered to be universal and current. The show offers a fight for self-image, the struggle between free will and destiny, and the methods humans accept, through generations, to ask for and to offer forgiveness and to redeem themselves. 

Netflix’s adaptation, by shifting the focus of the story to Cathy’s point of view, promises not only the exploration of the character but also the unveiling of one of the most interesting anti-heroes in literature. This riveting drama has no release date yet; however, the streaming giant could launch it in early 2026.

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