TV adaptation of Sally Rooney's Conversations with Friends begins filming in Belfast

Filming has officially begun in Belfast on the TV adaptation of Normal People author Sally Rooney's 2017 debut novel Conversations with Friends.

Mayo writer Rooney's second book Normal People became an international sensation and also spawned a 12-part BBC/Hulu TV series last year.

Lenny Abrahamson will direct the new show alongside Leanne Welham, who has previously worked on The Trial of Christine Keeler and His Dark Materials.

Emerging Cork actress Alison Oliver will play Frances, a 21-year-old college student who faces her vulnerabilities as she navigates a series of relationships. Oliver is a graduate of the esteemed Dublin Lír Academy, whose alumni include Normal People's Paul Mescal.

Sasha Lane (American Honey, The Miseducation Of Cameron Post) will play the role of Bobbi, Joe Alwyn (The Favourite) will portray Nick, and Jemima Kirke (Girls) will play Melissa. The series is both a complex coming of age drama and a modern love story.

While Melissa and Bobbi flirt with each other openly, Nick and Frances embark on an intense, secret affair that is surprising to them both. Soon the affair begins to test the bond between Frances and Bobbi, forcing Frances to reconsider her sense of self, and the friendship she holds so dear.

Filming will occur this year in Dublin, Belfast and other international locations; while Conversations with Friends is expected to air on RTÉ, BBC and Hulu in 2022.

29-year-old Sally Rooney will publish her third book, Beautiful World, Where Are You, this September.

The novel is about Alice, a novelist, who meets warehouse worker Felix and invites him to travel to Rome with her. In Dublin, her best friend Eileen is getting over a break-up, and slips back into flirting with Simon, a man she has known since childhood.

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