Break out the raspberry cordial, book nerds, because the new Anne of Green Gables movie comes to PBS this Thanksgiving! The made-for-TV movie, which premiered on Canadian television back in February, is one of two current, major adaptations of Lucy Maud Montgomery's most famous book series. The other, a Netflix and CBC-produced series called Anne , is set to air on Canadian TV and the streaming service sometime next year.
First published in 1908, Anne of Green Gables tells the story of Anne Shirley: a redheaded orphan who is sent to live with the Cuthberts — an aging brother and sister — on their Prince Edward Island farm. Anne is a precocious, clever, and outspoken little girl. There's just one problem: she isn't the boy they've sent for.
Although it has been the subject of numerous adaptations and sequels over the years, the 1985 Anne of Green Gables miniseries, is, as moviefone.com puts it, "the gold standard." That adaptation starred Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Richard Farnsworth, and Jonathan Crombie, as Anne, the Cuthberts, and Anne's will-they-or-won't-they school chum, Gilbert Blythe.
Montgomery's granddaughter, Kate MacDonald Butler, helped produce the new Anne of Green Gables movie, which stars Ella Ballentine, Sara Botsford, and Martin Sheen. U.S. viewers can catch Anne of Green Gables at 8 P.M. Thanksgiving night on their local PBS affiliate.
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Image: CBC
