Conversations With Friends Trailer: The Sally Rooney-Verse Returns For More Heartbreak

After giving us two years to pick up the pieces of our shattered souls, the Rooney-verse has finally returned. Back in 2020, Hulu struck gold with their steamy adaptation of Sally Rooney's best-selling novel "Normal People," a series that quickly became a phenomenon when it stole millions of hearts and launched the careers of rising stars, Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar Jones. Now the same team is spinning Rooney's words into a new tale of forbidden love — "Conversations With Friends" will bring her debut novel to life. This time around, the messy affair has been supersized and instead of following two lovers who just can't make things work, we've got a love rectangle to handle. Lenny Abrahamson ("Room," "Normal People") returns to direct, now joined by Leanne Welham ("His Dark Materials") who helms five episodes. The duo will collaborate with "Normal People" scribe Alice Birch ("Succession," "Mothering Sunday"), taking on the 12-episode series destined to break all of our hearts. Is the anticipation killing you yet? No worries, Hulu has revealed that the series is set to premiere on May 15, 2022, and we finally have a trailer to gawk at!

Is there a better soundtrack for emotional devastation than Phoebe Bridgers? Just in case you aren't sure what to expect from "Conversations With Friends," the trailer debuts the first new solo song from Bridgers since her 2020 breakout album, "Punisher." As her new single "sidelines" sets the tone, we're launched into a world of fears, tears, and steamy affairs. "Conversations With Friends" traces the story of 21-year-old Trinity student Frances (played by newcomer Alison Oliver), who feels like she's on the sidelines of life as she navigates college life. She'll quickly learn a foundational lesson: relationships are complicated, so much so that they can't always be defined. Frances has some experience in that area even before the series begins — her best friend Bobbi (Sasha Lane) also happens to be her ex-girlfriend. But their already complex relationship hits a new bump when they meet a married couple, Melissa (Jemima Kirke) and Nick (Joe Alwyn). While Melissa and Bobbi indulge in an intense flirtation, Frances finds herself swept up in an affair with Nick that threatens to harm her relationship with Bobbi.

So just how closely will this film resemble "Normal People"? As it's also an adaptation of a Rooney novel, the shows bear some resemblance, especially with the same team behind them. But Abrahamson told The Hollywood Reporter not to expect a replica of the 2020 hit series. He said, "The moods of the two shows definitely overlap in places, but Conversations is a little bit messier than Normal People. The relationships are messier, and there are more of them." The director added: "Conversations is really a coming-of-age story, centering on Frances, who is trying to figure herself out ... it's prepared to challenge the viewer's own sense of what is good or right in various situations."

"Conversations With Friends" arrives on Hulu on May 15, 2022.