By now, we’ve all well and truly devoured all there is of Sally Rooney’s Normal People. After falling in love with the Irish author’s novel, we eagerly awaited its television adaptation starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal, which did not disappoint. Since, we’ve been searching for our next Rooney fix, from reading her debut novel Conversations With Friends (which, again we wait eagerly for its television treatment) and even searched for books that are similar in style, or even set in the romantic isles of Ireland.
And while we’ve been following along with Connell’s chain, wondering if we’ll ever see that tantalising piece of jewellery again – the best news ever has just been announced.
Marianne and Connell will return for two more episodes (!!!) on June 26. Edgar-Jones and Mescal will reprise their roles, taking part in two special episodes for Comic Relief Ireland. “There’s a beautiful piece called Normal Older People, which is imagining what would have happened to Marianne and Connell 40 years from now,” Comic Relief co-founder, Richard Curtis, told RTÉ Radio 1. “I promise you, these are two very special bits.”
“It’s so much better than anything we’ve ever made,” he added. “I mean I can’t even say [everything] about it because there’s a guest star in it. But it’s really, really beautiful. One of the things about Comic Relief is it just gives opportunities for things to happen that would never happen. I can’t imagine any context in which they would have allowed this little sort of extra special guest into the world of Normal People.”
As those who watched the show would know, we were not given an ending to Marianne and Connell’s story. But Rooney has previously admitted she’s written what happened Connell leaves Marianne behind in Dublin to attend a graduate writer’s program in New York. In fact, the book is based on At the Clinic, a story Rooney published in the literary magazine The White Review in 2016, which follows the pair on a trip to get Marianne’s wisdom tooth removed when both are 23-years-old.
While only viewers in Ireland and Northern Ireland will be able to watch the episodes live as they air, we’ll be sure to update you with where to watch.
