New Anne Of Green Gables Series

The chatty Canadian dreamer that is Anne of Green Gables is internationally beloved for her cheery qualities: a big imagination, bold spirit and face full of freckles. But the new series 'Anne,' debuting Sunday on CBC and later this spring on Netflix elsewhere in the world, unearths a dark chapter of her life that shaped her resilience. Flashbacks show the vicious abuse and bullying the pigtailed redhead endured in orphanages and foster homes before being reluctantly taken in by aging siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert in Prince Edward Island in the late 1890s. 'I think this show is a little bit more honest, even if it is brutally so,' said Amybeth McNulty, an Irish-Canadian who stars as 13-year-old Anne Shirley. 'There's more honesty about the abuse that she goes through and the trauma that she went through. I think it also gives you a more in-depth sense to who she is and how she fights through all that.

1. New Anne Of Green Gables Series Book

New Anne Of Green Gables Series Book

There is an upcoming television series which will be based upon the classic novel Anne of Green Gables written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The casting directors at Northwood Entertainment are on a worldwide talent hunt for a young girl to play the lead actress, Anne, the.

'It's even more empowering, because you think if you went through so much - if you went from house to house to house of strangers to orphanages, asylums and so much trauma - and to come through it with such a beautiful spirit that Anne has, I think it's lovely to see that.' ' Emmy-winning producer-writer Moira Walley-Beckett of 'Breaking Bad' fame created the series based on Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic novel. Shot in P.E.I. And Ontario, it features stunning landscapes - and there's another bit of Canadiana in the choice of song to accompany the opening credits: the Tragically Hip's 'Ahead By a Century.' ' Walley-Beckett said she hopes all generations will enjoy the show in a co-viewing way, noting it's not dialled down for kids. 'She's super relevant for right now,' said Walley-Beckett, the showrunner, executive producer and writer.

'In this day and age, themes of identity, prejudice, bullying, being an outsider, searching for a way to be accepted and how to belong are entirely topical and super relevant, and those are themes that are built into the story of 'Anne.' 'Anne was an accidental feminist, and I am not an accidental feminist, and I really wanted to tell this story now.'

' Of course, there have been previous onscreen versions of Anne's story, including a heralded 1985 miniseries starring Megan Follows and two recent YTV films. Ultimately, it's a story of a girl who is fiercely unique, independent, determined and doesn't see any barriers for herself, said executive producer Miranda de Pencier. 'I think the classic idea of: it's not how we succeed, it's how we face and overcome our challenges and the pain and the difficulties that come against us,' said de Pencier, whose credits include 'Thanks For Sharing' and 'Beginners.'

' 'Anne is a survivor. She's someone. That stays positive in the face of real crushing difficulty and that's inspiring.' ' Walley-Beckett and de Pencier searched three continents and saw 1,800 girls to find their Anne. They chose McNulty, whose mother was born in Calgary, because 'she's luminous, she's transparent and she's smart and soulful and emotional,' said Walley-Beckett.

'She also has to carry her words, which are not for the faint of heart,' said de Pencier. 'The dialogue is incredibly thick and dynamic and beautiful.' ' British star Geraldine James plays the stern taskmaster Marilla, while Canadian stage and screen star R.H. Thomson plays the quiet Matthew.

'This is a very odd brother and sister who live on the edge of nowhere, so there's a lot of (gossip) about them, so to speak,' said Thomson. 'There's the attitude of the local society onto these two people,' added James, a four-time BAFTA nominee. The series also has several female directors and McNulty said she thinks it brings feminist issues 'forward a little bit more.' ' 'I was at the Women's March in Toronto recently and it was wonderful to see everyone together and really fighting for what everybody deserves,' she said. 'And I like how this (series) brings it forward. I have a line that says, 'Girls can do anything boys can do - and more,' and it's so true.'

For 14-year-old Amybeth McNulty, it's the role of a lifetime. She beat more than 1,800 girls from Canada and abroad to land the starring turn as Anne in the new CBC adaptation of Anne of Green Gables. 'She's riveting on screen, she's translucent. You can see every thought and every emotion,' says writer and show-runner Moira Walley-Beckett of her show's star, who initially auditioned online from her home in Donegal, Ireland (McNulty's mother is Canadian).

McNulty, a self-described 'bookworm' who read the Anne of Green Gables books when she was nine, says she shares many traits with Montgomery's feisty heroine. 'She has so much love for the world, which I think I share with her. And her curiosity about everything, how she can be so fierce and so bold but so gentle and so loving.' Showrunner Moira Walley-Beckett on the new Anne, Irish-Canadian actress Amybeth McNulty, who is reviving the role of Lucy Maud Montgomery's famed red-headed orphan.

1:30 Her new role is also giving McNulty, who lives in Ireland, an opportunity to discover her mother's homeland. Accompanied by her grandparents, she filmed a portion of the series in Prince Edward Island, the epicentre of all things Anne. 'First of all, anywhere you turn is a postcard, instantly,' McNulty said of the experience of filming in P.E.I. 'It's so gorgeous and the people are amazing, they're so lovely and welcoming.

It was so amazing to shoot there, to think that's where Anne of Green Gables is, and is so loved.' The Battle of the Annes With seasoned actors R.H. Thomson ( The Englishman's Boy, Road to Avonlea) and Geraldine James ( Sherlock Holmes, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) filling the roles of Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, the brother and sister who become Anne's guardians, the show-runners say they got their 'dream cast.'

Amybeth McNulty, left, R.H Thompson, centre, and Geraldine James, right, film a scene on the Toronto set of the CBC series Anne. (CBC) But that still only goes so far in winning the audience. With such popular source material, this production of Anne has to stand out, not only from the past TV incarnations of Lucy Maud Montgomery's novel, but some current competition as well. The TV movie version of Anne of Green Gables, starring newcomer Ella Ballentine as Anne and Hollywood star Martin Sheen as Matthew, aired on YTV last year, with two more feature-length installments in the works right now. 'I feel that this Anne is entirely different,' says Walley-Beckett. 'We're off-book. We're the essence of the book, we have the heart and soul of the book, we have our iconic moments that everyone can't wait for, and we're telling a new story. I think that is one reason why it's entirely its own.' 'It's not doilies and teacups, it's life' The other, more aesthetic difference may have to do with Walley-Beckett's own background, steeped in gritty cable drama (she was a writer on AMC's Breaking Bad), not cutesy period pieces.

'This is a very grounded, real version of the story. Life in Prince Edward Island in the late 1800s was a hard, gritty, scrappy life. It was messy, it was covered in red mud,' says Walley-Beckett. 'The weather, the seasons, it's all part of our story. It's not doilies and teacups, it's life.'

Anne will premiere on CBC Television in the spring of 2017, and will simultaneously stream on Netflix in the United States and around the world. It is slated to stream on Netflix Canada at a later date.