Netflix Eyes Liz Moore’s The God of the Woods as Its Next Prestige Thriller

Netflix is teeing up another book-to-series adaptation, and this one has real heat on it. The streamer is developing Liz Moore's 2024 novel 'The God of the Woods' as a series, with Moore teaming up with Liz Hannah to run the show. Two Lizes steering a thorny family mystery? I am listening.

'We love making TV and can’t wait to bring The God of the Woods to life with our partners at Sony and Netflix,' Moore and Hannah said in a joint statement. 'We hope everyone falls in love (and hate) with these characters as much as we have.'

The essentials

• Project: Series adaptation of Liz Moore's 2024 novel 'The God of the Woods'
• Showrunners/Writers/EPs: Liz Moore ('Long Bright River') and Liz Hannah ('The Girl from Plainville', 'Mindhunter', 'The Post')
• Additional EPs: Neal H. Moritz and Pavun Shetty for Original Film
• Where: Set up with Sony and Netflix

What 'The God of the Woods' is about

This one is a multigenerational drama set in the Adirondacks, centered on the Van Laar family. On the surface: money, influence, legacy. Underneath: secrets, power plays, class friction. The inciting event is the disappearance of 13-year-old Barbara Van Laar from the family's summer camp, which stirs up an earlier tragedy that might be connected. As the story jumps between past and present, those polished family veneers crack, and the fallout from privilege and abuse of power starts to come into focus.

Why the book already has buzz

It is not just a critics'-only favorite. President Barack Obama named 'The God of the Woods' one of his favorite books of the year. And in a very 2025 twist, fans clocked Taylor Swift listening to the audiobook in her 'End of an Era' docuseries that hit Disney+ last week. Between that and Moore's rising profile, the timing for a series makes sense.

Moore's other series on the way

Moore's earlier novel 'Long Bright River' is also getting the TV treatment, with a cast that includes Amanda Seyfried, Nicholas Pinnock, Ashleigh Cummings, Callum Vinson, and more. The story tracks two sisters in a Philadelphia neighborhood battered by the opioid crisis: Kacey, living on the streets and in the grip of addiction, and Mickey, a cop who patrols the same blocks. They are estranged, but when Kacey vanishes just as a string of murders hits Mickey's district, Mickey becomes consumed with finding both the killer and her sister. The narrative toggles between the present-day investigation and the sisters' upbringing, mixing a propulsive mystery with a family drama about addiction, loyalty, and how place and history cling to you.

Bottom line: Netflix is pairing two sharp storytellers on a twisty, character-first mystery with real-world bite, and the book already comes with a built-in audience. If they stick the landing, this could be one of those buzzy, week-to-week conversation starters.