Anna Pigeon is soaring from page to screen.
Author Nevada Barr’s beloved book character is coming to life in USA Network’s new drama based on the mystery-solving park ranger’s fictional adventures.
Of course, fans of the book series might notice some differences between Barr’s source material—a whopping 19 books in total—and the USA adaptation starring Tracy Spiridakos.
“It’s interesting to adapt a book to a series because it’s a very difficult task,” the show’s director and executive producer Lea Thompson explained to USA Insider. “I think our amazing show runner Morwyn Brebner has done the most incredible job with taking the essence of the character and then finding the supporting characters from the different books.”
While Thompson noted most of the show’s characters are amalgamations of different personalities featured in Barr’s 19 tomes, the storylines only borrow from two of the author’s books.
“We use Track of the Cat and The Rope,” she revealed, “and then the rest of them are taken from the incredible minds of our writers.”
Longtime devotees will also find themselves in an entirely new location when they tune in to the Aug. 7 premiere.
“This first book that we adapted for the pilot was set in Texas,” Thompson recounted. “We changed it from Texas to Glacier National Park, but it’s still the same feeling and the same story and a lot of the same characters.”
Not to mention a lot of the same mysteries to solve.
“Each episode will be a little different,” Thompson teased. “There’s some murders, missing people, kidnapping. Maybe I said too much.”
Fans might be surprised to learn that the adaptation from text to TV has been quite a long time coming.
As Thompson told USA, “My journey with this project of Anna Pigeon started as a fan of the books. I love the books. I love Nevada Barr’s writing and I just fell in love with the character, so I decided to option them 10 years ago.”
While it took a decade for the project to come to fruition, Thompson was dead set on casting from the start.
Enter Spiridakos, who stars as the titular sleuth investigating mysterious crimes committed within Montana’s Glacier National Park.
“I think the fans of the books are going to be so excited because we found the perfect Anna,” Thompson reflected. “The perfect Anna Pigeon to embody the incredible spirit of Anna Pigeon.”
The Chicago P.D. alum’s relatability is what’s really going to resonate with viewers, according to the 65-year-old.
“Tracy Spiridakos is just such a star,” the Back to the Future actress continued. “She’s such a great person that you want to be with. You want her to be your friend. You want to be like her. You want to date her. You want to know her. So, she’s a great person to spend a lot of time with and see her fail and win and get hurt and get back up again and to be disheartened and find a way out. It’s very cathartic and fun to watch.”
Get lost in Anna’s adventures when Anna Pigeon premieres Friday, Aug. 7, at 10 p.m. on USA Network.