It appears 2021 is the year we're obsessed with digging up the past to understand the present. That's right, we can't get enough of prequels. First it was The Many Saints of Newark, then the Hunger Games prequel and now there's more. Lifetime is revisiting V.C Andrew's classic, if controversial novel Flowers In the Attic, this time to explore the backstory of the tales famous antagonist. Titled, Flowers in the Attic: The Origin, the miniseries will serve as a prequel to Lifetime's 2014 film that featured Kiernan Shipka and Heather Graham. From what we can tell, the series will shadow the life of grandmother, Olivia Foxworth, unveiling the events that led her to become the callous figure penned by Andrews.

Yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter announced Jemima Rooper as a young Olivia and Max Irons as Malcolm Foxworth ⁠— the grandparents of the Dollanganger children. The series will be split into four parts, each helmed by a different director. Declan O’Dwyer will direct the first two episodes, while Robin Sheppard will take over the final two.

 

What is Flowers in the Attic: The Origin about?

For those who have read the novel or watched Lifetime's 2014 film adaptation, you will already be familiar with the cruelty dished out by the character that is simply known as the Dollanganger children's grandmother. She is the source of the four children's anguish in Flowers in the Attic, famously keeping them locked inside a small bedroom, from where she torments them. In the Flowers in the Attic: The Origin prequel Lifetime have decided to spotlight the story of the grandmother, highlighting the experiences that fashioned her into this Disney-like villain. If there's anyone that can do justice to this family drama, it's definitely Lifetime.

According to the Lifetime website, The Origin “tells the story of the headstrong and determined Olivia Winfield, who is working alongside her beloved father when she finds herself unexpectedly wooed by one of the nation’s most eligible bachelors, Malcolm Foxworth. After a whirlwind romance, Olivia finds herself as the mistress of the imposing Foxworth Hall, where she soon discovers that the fairy-tale 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 — decision to lock her grandchildren in the attic.”

We don't have an official release date for the series yet, but we'll be sure to keep you updated when we hear more details.

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