Little Women to be made into "gritty" TV series

Yep, Louisa May Alcott’s classic coming-of-age novel about the March sisters is coming to TV via US network The CW – but don’t expect the quiet domesticity and romantic plays of earlier screen versions (perhaps most famously the 1994 Susan Sarandon, Winona Ryder and Kirsten Dunst adaptation).

No, this version is described as a “hyper-stylized, gritty adaptation of the 1868 novel by Louisa May Alcott, in which disparate half-sisters Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy band together in order to survive the dystopic streets of Philadelphia”, according to Deadline.

The sisters must “unravel a conspiracy that stretches far beyond anything they have ever imagined – all while trying not to kill each other in the process”. So basically it’s 19^th century literature via The Hunger Games – but presumably with a lot more scarlet fever.

We're looking forward to see what else will undergo a gritty makeover – the Owl and the Pussycat taking to the high seas after an attempted robbery turns to accidentally turns to murder, perhaps, or the harrowing tale of Julian from the Famous Five struggling with alcoholism. Hopefully we'll even get the zombie apocalypse version of Winnie the Pooh the world should have been clamouring for.