As she soaks her wounds, she wraps one hand around the straps of a duffel bag filled with two small knives, aspirin, and other, unspecified supplies. She examines her back, which is bleeding, and pours salt in a bathtub filled with warm water.

The first-person perspective then shifts, and we see the woman who’s been muttering, then shouting, the name “Kevin,” while laying motionless in a shadowy, largely empty home. The first thing we see, spinning in rapid circles, is a ceiling fan, and Bravo’s camera, in a movement replicated later in the episode, pans down to a hand laying softly on the floor. But for some, getting there may simply be too taxing, too indefinite, to keep pushing forward. Given the people involved and its compelling premise, Season 2 could really take off. The FX production is meant to be an ongoing series, not a limited run (as previously reported), and despite a pilot that plows through quite a bit of plot, “Kindred” is just approaching some of the book’s most challenging character moments and thematic ideas when Season 1 ends.

Not consistently during the eight-episode first season, at least, but perhaps “not yet” serves as the more appropriate warning. Ambitious creativity is often called for in telling an oft-told story in a new medium, for a new audience, and “Kindred” (available exclusively on Hulu) is full of bold changes that force readers to reconsider what they’re watching.Ĭheryl Strayed on Making ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’ for Hulu and the Secret to Good Adaptations Such talent behind the camera befits both the classic novel on which the series is based - Octavia Butler’s 1979 book is still a strong seller today, while being taught in high school classrooms and college campuses across the nation - as well as the big swings taken in translating the author’s words to TV. Even though he only has a few TV credits, they still include a consulting producer gig on a little Emmy juggernaut called “Watchmen.” He’s joined by fellow tick-tock colleague Victoria Thomas, the exceptional, Emmy-winning casting director behind everything from “Ed Wood” and “Ali” to “The Leftovers” and “Insecure.” “Zola” director Janicza Bravo helms the pilot, while the series’ other executive producers include “The Americans” masterminds Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields, as well as some guy named Darren Aronofsky. Showrunner and writer Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama, as well as a MacArthur fellow. FX assembled a formidable, curiosity-driving team to adapt “ Kindred” for television.

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