For those looking for a series to watch on Netflix, television critic Luke Eccleston recommends the platform’s new miniseries, East of Eden. Eccleston, who has more than 497 thousand followers on TikTok, said he watched all 7 episodes of the series back to back, describing the acting as “incredible.”
Developed by Zoe Kazan, the production offers a new take on John Steinbeck’s classic novel. The series tells the multi-generational story of the Trask family, who live in California’s Salinas Valley. Oscar nominee Florence Pugh plays Cathy Ames, an antihero who steers people in line with her own interests. Compared with previous adaptations, the series focuses more on its female characters; the rival brothers Adam and Charles are played by Christopher Abbott and Mike Faist.
The story begins with a young girl they find beaten on their doorstep and spans decades.
Released on October 1, the series rose to the top of Netflix’s viewing list; in Turkey, it overtook Seni Tanıyorum. Its positive review score on Rotten Tomatoes stands at 87 percent. Viewers particularly praise Pugh’s performance and the visual storytelling.
Why it matters
East of Eden’s rise to the top of the viewing list in a short time shows that classic literature adaptations can still reach a broad audience on digital platforms. The production’s reinterpretation of Steinbeck’s novel by placing female characters at the center is a new example of the trend of approaching time-honored works from a contemporary perspective. The series also taking the top spot in Turkey offers insight into the impact of international platform content on local viewing habits. The buzz generated by a recommendation from a social media commentator with close to half a million followers demonstrates that these channels have joined traditional criticism as a decisive force in promoting a series. The fact that the seven-episode miniseries format can be consumed in a single sitting leaves open the question of how long this intense interest will last.