Flowers in the Attic by novelist V.C. Andrews may be one of the best-selling books worldwide with over forty million copies since its publication. Not to mention, it had been adapted into a film and sequels. Now there’ll be a new take for a miniseries for the Lifetime channel on the away titled Flowers in the Attic: The Origin.

However, the novel has its controversies with offensive passages in regards to incest and sexual intercourse. Those depictions led certain school districts to ban copies of the books in their libraries.

The Lifetime channel does not stray from controversial materials with its programming offer. This version of Flowers in the Attic: The Origin may have its re-interpretation of the story.

LRM Online attend the Television Critics Association press tour this week on Zoom, the executive producers did not address the controversies specifically but said Lifetime audiences and novel fans will be entirely understanding.

“We didn’t go about it thinking too much about that, to be honest. I knew we had this character. I knew we had to try to create a story that would make us understand her world and understand why she might take the actions that we all know she took, which is locking children in the attic,” said executive producer Paul Sciarrotta. “And we went from there. And I sort of come from that angle and hopefully the more real we can make her journey, the more understandable, all of the extreme situations that end up surrounding her become.”

Executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman also stated, “Lifetime has such a breadth and wealth of experience telling such a large sort of swatch of women’s stories and specifically V.C. Andrews. And I think the Lifetime audience and they’ve programmed it so—well, you understand when you’re coming in that you’re going to see a story that has a lot of like big emotional and painful revelations and soap and high extremes.”

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The panelist was also attended by its cast, including Harry Hamlin, Alana Boden, Hannah Dodd, Kelsey Grammer, Paul Wesley, Kate Mulgrew, Max Irons, and Jemima Rooper.

Here is the full description of the miniseries:

Flowers in the Attic: The Origin tells the story of the headstrong and determined Olivia Winfield (Rooper) who is working alongside her beloved father (Hamlin) when she finds herself unexpectedly wooed by one of the nation’s most eligible bachelors, Malcolm Foxworth (Irons). After a whirlwind romance, Olivia finds herself as the mistress of the imposing Foxworth Hall, where she soon discovers that the fairytale life she expected has quickly become a nightmare. Under Malcolm’s debonair exterior lies a dark heart, and a twisted evil lurks inside Foxworth Hall that will threaten Olivia’s happiness and that of her children. Her attempts to keep them all safe ultimately push Olivia to become the most terrifying version of herself, leading to her inevitable—and notorious—the decision to lock her grandchildren in the attic.

Lifetime channel marks the premiere date of Flowers in the Attic: The Origin miniseries this summer.

Source: TCA 2022, Lifetime