Carley Fortune has shared a fresh update on the Netflix adaptation of her bestselling novel Meet Me at the Lake, confirming that a director has now been attached to the project.
The author revealed that the screenplay is currently undergoing revisions as the production moves forward.
The film rights were acquired by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Productions back in August 2023, with the project now progressing through its development phase.
Ms Fortune explained that her decision to collaborate with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex came after an extensive telephone conversation with Meghan and Archewell film producer Tracy Ryerson.
Carley Fortune has shared a fresh update on the Netflix adaptation of her bestselling novel Meet Me at the Lake
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The author said she came away from that discussion feeling confident that the production team’s creative vision matched her own intentions for the story.
“I felt like they really understood the story and what mattered about the story,” Ms Fortune told Jenna Bush Hager on Open Book with Jenna, adding that their conversations delved into the novel’s exploration of the mother-daughter relationship and broader themes of parenthood.
Despite the ongoing collaboration on the feature film, Ms Fortune was quick to dismiss any suggestion that she had developed a close personal friendship with the royal couple.
When Mrs Bush Hager playfully enquired whether the author had become best friends with the duke and duchess, Ms Fortune responded with laughter.
The film rights were acquired by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Productions back in August 2023
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“No, I am not hanging out with Harry and Meghan on weekends,” she said.
“You could!” the Today anchor replied.
Ms Fortune revealed that her partnership with Prince Harry, 41, and Meghan, 44, stemmed from that initial lengthy call, which left her assured the project was heading in the right direction.
The novel tackles weighty subjects including grief, mental health struggles such as post-partum OCD, and the complexities of parenthood, themes that align closely with the Sussexes’ longstanding advocacy in the mental health space.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Nicole Avant, and Ted Sarandos pictured earlier this year
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“It’s a romance, but it’s very much about a mother and daughter too,” Ms Fortune said, noting that the story goes beyond a conventional love narrative.
The author expressed confidence that these sensitive topics were “in good hands” with Harry and Meghan as producers, given their public commitment to mental health causes.
Readers of the novel have observed several striking similarities between the Toronto-set narrative and the couple’s own lives, including the fact that Meghan resided in the Canadian city whilst filming Suits before her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry.
The story also features a protagonist who lost a parent in a car accident and subsequently battled substance abuse issues.
Carley Fortune spoke to Jenna Bush Hager about the adaptation
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Casting decisions have yet to be made, though social media users have been enthusiastically suggesting potential actors, with names including Ben Barnes, Logan Lerman, Phoebe Dynevor and Lucy Hale circulating on TikTok.
The novel follows protagonists Will and Fern, described in its official summary as “two strangers on a daylong adventure where they make a promise one keeps and the other breaks, with life-changing effects.”
“What I have found through books is I can weave in things that are really important to me, and people engage with them because they are reading this romance, they know it’s going to have a happy ending,” Ms Fortune explained.
“But they are learning about mental health.”