Fans of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables will soon have yet another adaptation on a long list to choose from, with Netflix picking up an eight-episode series based on the first book in the series, simply titled Anne. The show, which has already aired in Canada and is being spearheaded by Breaking Bad alum Moira Walley-Beckett, follows a young orphan (Amybeth McNulty) who is unintentionally adopted by an aging brother (R.H. Thomson) and sister (Geraldine James) in the 1890s on Prince Edward Island. Though they had originally sent for a boy, they take Anne in and watch as she transforms their quiet town with her determination and imagination.
The trailer isn’t stingy about plot details, taking us through all the classic moments from Montgomery’s novel: the town’s initial reluctance to accept Anne, her budding friendship with Diana, and, of course, her rivalry with Gilbert Blythe. We even get a glimpse of what is probably the book’s most famous scene, where Anne, sensitive about her red hair, smacks Gilbert with a chalk slate for calling her Carrots. (Though this version doesn’t look nearly as satisfying as the one from the 1985 miniseries, where she straight-up breaks it over his head.)
Otherwise, though, everything you could possibly ask for is present here, including an opening so dramatic you’d think its heroine, with her penchant for melodrama, had cut it together herself. To quote the wisdom of Anne: “It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.” This trailer doesn’t make that hard to do.
Anne debuts on Netflix May 12.
