Three weeks after its October 1 premiere, East of Eden is still one of the most-watched shows on Netflix. Florence Pugh's take on John Steinbeck's classic ranked No. 2 on Netflix's global English TV chart for the week of October 12 to 18, with 6.2 million views. Here's what the story is about, what's different from the book and the 1955 movie, and how long it takes to watch.
Still Near the Top After 3 Weeks
East of Eden pulled 6.2 million views and 43.3 million hours watched from October 12 to 18, according to Netflix's Top 10. It's the series' third week on the chart, and only Below, with 21.2 million views, did better.
The show opened at No. 1 on the English TV list with 6.5 million views in its first four days, What's on Netflix reported. Critics liked it too: the series had an 86% average critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes and Certified Fresh status in early October.
The book is getting a lift as well. Penguin Classics reported a nearly 200% increase in sales of the novel across all formats since Netflix greenlit the series, and Steinbeck's novel reached No. 1 on Amazon's Best Sellers list, according to What's on Netflix.
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What East of Eden Is About
Steinbeck published East of Eden in 1952. The story follows the Trask family in early 20th-century California, starting with brothers Adam and Charles and their strained relationship. Then Cathy Ames enters their lives and drives a wedge between them. The story later moves to Adam's twin sons, Cal and Aron, and draws heavily on the biblical story of Cain and Abel.
Zoe Kazan created the series and runs it with Jeb Stuart. The main cast includes:
- Florence Pugh as Cathy Ames
- Christopher Abbott as Adam Trask
- Mike Faist as Charles Trask, Adam's half-brother
- Joseph Zada and Joe Anders as the twins, Cal and Aron
- Hoon Lee as Lee
- Ciarán Hinds as Samuel Hamilton
- Martha Plimpton as Faye and Tracy Letts as Cyrus Trask
What's Different From the Book
The biggest change is whose story it is. Cathy is the center of the series, and Kazan drew on Steinbeck's letters to his editor to build her out, BuzzFeed reported. Some of the other changes:
- Cathy shows up right away. In the novel, she isn't introduced until chapter eight. The series opens with her arriving bloodied and beaten.
- Her past is more explicit. The series puts the abuse Cathy suffered as a child on screen, where the book only alludes to it.
- The Hamilton family is mostly gone. Samuel Hamilton remains a supporting figure, and Will Hamilton is the only other Hamilton with a significant role.
- Lee's story changes. In the book, he gives up his plan to open a bookstore in San Francisco out of loneliness. In the series, racist exclusion pushes him to give it up.
Kazan has said that “everything that's in the series has at least a root in the book,” even if not everything made it in.
How It Compares to the 1955 Movie
Elia Kazan's 1955 film, starring James Dean as Cal, adapts only the last part of Steinbeck's novel, when the twins are young adults. The new series covers the earlier story too, including how Adam, Charles and Cathy got there. The movie also left out Lee, who is back in the series with a bigger role.
There's a family link as well. Zoe Kazan is the granddaughter of Elia Kazan, who directed the 1955 film.
How Long It Takes to Watch
East of Eden is a limited series with seven episodes, all released on October 1. Netflix puts the total runtime at 6 hours and 57 minutes. Episodes run from 51 minutes to 1 hour and 8 minutes, with the finale, Timshel, the longest.
Garth Davis directed the first four episodes and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre directed the last three. Two evenings are enough to finish it, and if the series hooks you, there's a novel of more than 600 pages waiting for you after the finale.
