They say good things come to those who wait, and if that’s true, A Court of Thorns and Roses fans are certainly due for some good tidings as far as the book’s television adaptation is concerned.
Series enthusiasts have been waiting several long years for the small screen version of Sarah J. Maas’s best-selling romantasy books to come to fruition, with only scraps of information about the project to sustain them in the interim. While the TV show was first announced as in development by Hulu and 20th Television in 2021, it was in limbo for some time, until the streamer ultimately officially dropped it in February 2025.
However, just like when the book's heroine Feyre faced off against the Wyrm in the cavernous pit Under the Mountain, all hope is not lost. Word on the street is that Maas is looking to take the series to a different network once its option expires at Disney’s 20th Television. Below, find everything we know about the fate of the A Court of Thorns and Roses TV series adaptation, from the status of its development to the cast and release date.
Where will the 'A Court of Thorns and Roses' adaptation be released?
A Court of Thorns and Roses was originally slated to run on Hulu with Disney’s 20th Television producing until the streaming service dropped it in February 2025.
Many speculated that the show was not moving forward long before it was announced that Hulu had dropped it, considering the original showrunner had left 20th Television. Ronald D. Moore (known for sci-fi and fantasy hits like Battlestar Galactica and Outlander) was to be the showrunner, but departed the project in July 2024 after leaving Disney for Sony, where he signed a multi-year deal. Since he was no longer with the studio, he would no longer be attached to the series—though he opened up about some of the challenges it faced during a 2024 Comic Con interview. He explained at the time, “The thing about it was [going] from COVID to the [SAG-AFTRA actors’s] strikes to a lot of shakeup in terms of [Disney CEO] Bob Iger leaves, Bob Iger comes back, and as a result, that piece of development just never got traction.”
He added, “I spent a lot of time working on it and then it didn’t happen, so okay, I just move on.”
Hulu has yet to release a big, fantasy franchise on par with HBO's Emmy-winning Game of Thrones and its various spinoffs or Prime Video's Lord of the Rings prequel The Rings of Power. So, it made sense that the streamer would go after something of ACOTAR's caliber. Now that Hulu is no longer attached, Variety reported Maas is interested in shopping the project around to another network. It's currently unclear where, but fans can rest easy knowing that the series isn't totally dead.
When will the 'A Court of Thorns and Roses' TV show be released?
With no official network attached and the ACOTAR show basically back to square one, it will be a long while before it premieres. It's hard to say when, probably not before 2028 at the earliest.
We can look to another beloved fantasy series, Fourth Wing, getting the series treatment from Prime Video as a comparison. The project was first announced in 2023 and has undergone similar behind-the-scenes changes, with casting still underway. No release date has been confirmed for Fourth Wing either, so these things take a lot of time.
Sarah J. Maas on an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show.
What has Sarah J. Maas said about the 'A Court of Thorns and Roses' TV series adaptation?
Maas is heavily involved with the ACOTAR TV show and has expressed her excitement.
When the project was first announced, she shared on Instagram just how thrilled she was that Ronald D. Moore was on board and revealed she was a part of the writing process. Per TVLine, the author wrote in a now-deleted post, “It’s official … Ron Moore (creator of Outlander and one of my creative idols) and I will co-adapt ACOTAR as a TV show for Hulu! I’m currently hard at work writing the pilot with Ron (!!!!!).”
She added, “It just feels so great to finally be able to talk about this! Stay tuned for more details!!”
Maas opened up further about how she was "heavily involved" in a 2022 interview with The New York Times. “It just seemed like a new creative mountain for me to climb,” she said. “It’s a whole different way of telling stories, bringing them to life, and a whole different way of seeing my characters.”
She told the outlet that she was spending up to four hours a day on Zoom calls with Moore to help her story come to life.
In November 2023, amid the actors's strike, the writer gave another update. “We’ve written some scripts, and we’re just sort of waiting,” she told TVLine at the time. “I think the whole town is kind of waiting to see if we have actors before things really move forward, but it’s still in development.”
Since the change-ups, Maas has not publicly commented on Hulu's decision to drop the show. It's been said that she's interested in shopping it around, though, so we'll have to wait and see if she weighs in further.
What is the plot of 'A Court of Thorns and Roses'
How to explain the fantastical, faerie-fueled fiction that is A Court of Thorns and Roses? Essentially, it’s a story about a young woman experiencing the splendors of love (and sex—lots of sex) for the very first time when she is forced to journey far from home.
However, in this story, the young woman is a self-made warrior named Feyre who has trained herself to hunt to provide for her family—and the object of her affection is a royal faerie named Tamlin, who has taken her to his lands against her will as penance for unwittingly slaying a member of his court.
In addition to their ongoing battle of wills (which, of course, is never not fraught with sexual tension), dangers lurk around every corner for Feyre, who must learn to coexist in a world full of monsters she never knew existed.
Who has been cast in the 'A Court of Thorns and Roses' adaptation?
Casting was never officially announced when the ACOTAR series was at Hulu, and no updates have been made since then. However, that hasn’t stopped fans from taking their best guesses as to who might play their favorite ACOTAR characters.
At the top of their list for Tamlin? Outlander’s own Sam Heughan. The actor’s character in the Starz series, Jamie Fraser, was Maas’s reported inspiration for Lucien, Tamlin’s BFF. Adding fuel to the fan theory fire is the fact that Heughan is also mentioned in the first book’s acknowledgements.
Heughan played coy when our sister site, Marie Claire Australia, asked if he was working on the project. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?” he teased.
The rumor mill also had a heyday with Margot Robbie. The Barbie actress was spotted having coffee with the romantasy novelist in March 2024, sparking buzz that they might be collaborating on something—like the ACTOR adaptation. The Oscar-nominated star notably helms LuckyChap Entertainment and is known for her work as a producer, so she may very well be interested in getting involved behind the scenes.
She's already said to be a major Maas fan: Robbie told Harper’s Bazaar that she’s read all of the books in the novelist’s series “like, a million times over.” When asked if there was anything she could do to help her new friend move the project along, she joked, “We all need that—the world needs that. I’ll see what I can do.”
Other names that have been floated by fans for ACOTAR parts include Henry Cavill, Theo James, Thomas Doherty, Tyler Blackburn, and Katherine Langford, among others.
Stargirl’s Brec Bassinger threw her own hat into the ring while speaking to TVLine in 2023. “Literally, after I finished the first [book], I emailed my team and I was like, ‘Listen, I don’t care if I have one line. I have to be a part of this,” she said. “I’m not fiery enough for Nesta. I don’t present old enough for Feyre. I feel like I’d make a good Elain, but I’ll be whoever.”
Nothing has been confirmed yet, so, for now, keep the fan casts coming—and continue to check back to this story, as we'll continue to update it when more information becomes available.
