Anne with an "E" - Interview with Moira Walley-Beckett and Amybeth McNulty.

Having already aired on the CBC in Canada, now the world is in for a treat when Anne with an E makes it's Netflix debut on Friday with a new eight-hour TV series.

Anne of Green Gables may be the most popular Canadian tale of all time — the 1908 novel about the feisty, red-haired orphan has sold more than 50 million copies, been adapted countless times and inspired a tourist industry on P.E.I.

The series centres on Anne Shirley, a young orphaned girl who, after an abusive childhood spent in orphanages and the homes of strangers, is mistakenly sent to live with an aging sister and brother. Over time, 13-year-old Anne will transform the lives of Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert and eventually the entire small town in which they live with her unique spirit, fierce intellect and brilliant imagination. Anne’s adventures reflect timeless and topical issues including themes of identity, feminism, bullying and prejudice.

Amybeth McNulty as Anne Shirley and Dalila Bela as Diana Barry in  Anne with an E

Moira Walley-Beckett is a multiple award winning playwright, television writer and screenwriter. Recently, Walley-Beckett created Flesh and Bone, a critically acclaimed Limited Series for Starz. The drama received multiple nominations, including two Golden Globes® and a WGA, and won a Satellite Award and a Gracie Award in 2016. Before creating Flesh and Bone, Moira spent six years as a writer and co-executive producer on the critically acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad. For her work on that show, Walley-Beckett has won a total of three Emmy Awards®, three Writers’ Guild, a Golden Globe Award® and a Peabody, among others.

"How do you go from a meth lab to Green Gables farm in 1896?" Walley-Beckett asked during a recent interview.  "This ain't your grandmother's Anne. I'm really attracted to human stories and character stories. That's what Breaking Bad was… And that's what Anne is." She continues, "This is a cable, character drama," Walley-Beckett said, akin to shows on channels such as HBO or AMC, rather than mainstream TV networks. "Certainly the issues in the book for Anne — themes of identity, bullying, prejudice — are extremely topical right now."

Fifteen year old Amybeth McNulty  is an extraordinary young actress who has played a wide range of roles across stage and screen. From Donegal, Ireland, Amybeth won the coveted role of Anne Shirley in Anne with an E following a global and exhaustive search -- 1,889 girls auditioned for the role. She says playing Anne has been a dream cone true and it's the character's spirit that provides the story's enduring appeal, even to young people today.

McNulty recently played young Morgan in Luke Scott’s Morgan for 20th Century Fox, young Agatha Raisin in Agatha Raisin: The Quiche Of Death for Sky, Sputnik in The Sparticle Mystery for CBBC and the role of Jenny in Octagon Films 4 part mini-series Clean Break for RTE directed by Gillies MacKinnon. 

I had the extreme pleasure of chatting with writer/executive producer Moira Walley-Beckett and the amazing Amybeth McNulty via satellite from New York. 

CLICK BELOW FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW.

Anne with an E Premieres Friday, May 12th On Netflix - Prepare to Binge Watch!!!!