BBC Officially Adapting 12-Year-Old Bestselling Crime Thriller Into Movie For The First Time

Published Sep 10, 2026, 1:41 PM EDT

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One of Sarah Waters' stories is finally getting a screen adaptation from the BBC.

The Paying Guests is the only one of Waters' six novels that had yet to receive a screen adaptation. Her other books have already made the jump to television or the silver screen, including Tipping the Velvet, Fingersmith, Affinity, The Night Watch, and The Little Stranger. Fingersmith also served as the inspiration for Park Chan-wook's acclaimed film The Handmaiden, which is considered one of the best LGBTQ+ thrillers.

Now, Waters' bestselling crime thriller The Paying Guests is officially making its way to the screen more than a decade after the novel was first published. According to an exclusive report from Deadline, BBC Studios Fiction has optioned the 2014 novel, with Kayleigh Llewellyn on board to adapt it as a series. No network or streamer is currently attached to the project.

Published in 2014, The Paying Guests takes place in London in 1922 and follows Frances Wray and her mother, who are forced to take in lodgers as they struggle to maintain their home. Their new tenants, a married couple, Lilian and Leonard Barber, initially seem like an ordinary answer to the family's financial problems.

That quickly changes when Frances and Lilian begin a secret romantic relationship. What starts as a clandestine affair eventually becomes something much darker, with a murder and subsequent court case transforming the novel into a tense crime thriller.

The combination of historical drama, romance, secrets, and murder makes The Paying Guests a particularly fitting choice for a modern adaptation. Crime thrillers have a strong presence across streaming, while book adaptations remain one of Hollywood and television's most reliable sources of recognizable stories.

Llewellyn is a particularly interesting choice to bring Waters' novel to television. She created the acclaimed BBC drama In My Skin and has writing credits on Killing Eve. She is also attached to the upcoming BBC series The Dream Lands.

There is currently no word on casting, a production timeline, or where the series will eventually air. The project is still in the early stages, meaning those details will likely emerge as BBC Studios Fiction moves forward with the adaptation.

Waters' track record should give the series plenty to work with, though. Her novels have repeatedly attracted screen adaptations because of their combination of intricate relationships, historical settings, and darker subject matter. The Paying Guests was also shortlisted for the Women's Prize, adding to its credentials as one of her most acclaimed works.

With several high-profile upcoming book adaptations already generating interest, The Paying Guests is another one to eagerly anticipate as it transitions from the bookshelf. Considering Waters' previous adaptations, it has a solid chance of becoming one of the more intriguing additions to that growing lineup.