From Page To Screen: Netflix Adapting Jhumpa Lahiri’s ‘Unaccustomed Earth’ Into Soapy Drama

Photo: Barnard College

India-West Staff Reporter

LOS ANGELES, CA — Jhumpa Lahiri’s celebrated short story collection Unaccustomed Earth is being adapted into a Netflix drama series.

John Wells (Shameless, ER)  will serve as writer, showrunner, and executive producer under his Warner Bros. Television deal, alongside writer and executive producer Madhuri Shekar (3 Body Problem).

Award-winning filmmaker Nisha Ganatra (Late Night, Freaky Friday) is set to direct the pilot and also joins as executive producer.

Lahiri herself joins the project as an executive producer, along with Erica Saleh, Erin Jontow, and Celia Costas, ensuring the adaptation stays true to the emotional nuance and cultural complexity of the original stories.

Inspired by Lahiri’s internationally bestselling book, the upcoming series is described as an “epic, soapy drama” exploring the intricate lives of an elite Indian American community in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At its heart is a scandalous romance between a loyal wife and her long-lost love, igniting a firestorm of secrets, betrayals, and shifting alliances that ripple through generations.