Academy Award-nominated film Hidden Figures is the latest Hollywood hit to get the small-screen treatment, and we couldn't be more excited. As reported by Variety, the 2016 film is set to be adapted into a series by Nat Geo.
Based on the best-selling book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly, Hidden Figures, starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe, tells the true and inspiring story of three Black female pioneers – Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, who were the unsung heroes of the 1960’s Space Race. At the time, while working at NASA’s Langley Research Center, Johnson (Henson), Vaughan (Spencer), and Jackson (Monáe) were known simply referred to as "colored computers." But in actuality, the women played integral roles in calculating the first American orbit in space, and the film tells their boundary-breaking story as black women in STEM.
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The TV project, which is still in the early stages of development, will expand on their stories if it's greenlit, diving deeper into everything leading up to that historic moment, according to Variety. It will be executive produced by Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping, both of whom also served as executive producers on the film.
The movie dominated at the box office, raking in more than $200 million worldwide and received three Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Given the amount of praise it's received from critics and fans alike, it's safe to say that a series digging deeper into the story of these women would be well-received by viewers — regardless of age, race, gender, or profession.
Shetterly told an audience at Vanderbilt University that while she was inspired to pen the story because of a void in the history books left by the disinclusion of these black women, their story is meant to touch more than just the black community.
“Hidden Figures naturally has particular resonance for people who are black or female or scientists, or all three, but this history is ours — it is all of ours — and in a time when our country can seem fractured beyond repair, the power of story is such that it is still possible for people who believe themselves to be incompatibly different to see some things the same way,” she said.
There's no word yet on if Henson, Spencer, and Monáe will be reprising their roles in the TV series, but here's hoping they do. Because let's be honest, Henson's brilliance, Spencer's leadership, and Monáe's sassy quips kept us laughing and feeling inspired the entire film, and who wouldn’t want to see that on a weekly basis?
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