Netflix’s Seven-Part East of Eden Adapts John Steinbeck’s Family Saga

Taylor Sheridan’s work often combines high-stakes drama with Western settings. Alongside films such as Sicario and Those Who Wish Me Dead, he created the Yellowstone franchise, Tulsa King, and Lioness.

For much of the past year, reports have said Sheridan will leave Paramount for NBCUniversal when his current overall deal expires in 2028. Meanwhile, Netflix has released a miniseries that shares some themes with his work.

East of Eden, an adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel, premiered in early October and has remained on Netflix’s Top 10 Shows charts in the weeks since. According to Deadline, the series earned 28.9 million views in its first four weeks, nearly surpassing the growth of Netflix’s Emmy-winning 2025 miniseries Adolescence. East of Eden topped the chart in the week of September 28 with 6.5 million views and drew another 2.2 million in the week of October 26.

Steinbeck’s novel predates Sheridan’s filmography by more than half a century, but the series shares his interest in drama spanning generations. Its early 1900s setting is also close to the periods depicted in the Yellowstone spin-offs 1883 and 1923.

Some observers have speculated that Florence Pugh could earn an Emmy nomination for her lead performance, an honor that has not been awarded to any of the actors in Sheridan’s shows. With seven hour-long episodes, East of Eden is also a shorter binge than Sheridan’s television work.

The story follows a fiercely independent woman who drives a rift between two brothers, beginning a saga that unfolds over two generations. Pugh (Dune: Part Three) plays Cathy Ames, Christopher Abbott (The Testament of Ann Lee) plays Adam Trask, and Mike Faist (West Side Story) plays Charles Trask.

The cast also includes Hoon Lee (Your Friends & Neighbors) as Lee, Ciaran Hinds (Justice League) as Samuel Hamilton, Joseph Zada (The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping) as Caleb “Cal” Trask, Joe Anders (Cape Fear) as Aron Trask, Martha Plimpton (Raising Hope) as Faye, and Tracy Letts (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty) as Cyrus Trask.

The Netflix adaptation has a family connection to an earlier version of the novel. Actress and screenwriter Zoe Kazan created the series decades after her grandfather, Elia Kazan, adapted East of Eden into a 1955 film. That film stars James Dean as Caleb Trask and takes a different approach to Cathy, played by Jo Van Fleet in an Oscar-winning performance.

Speaking to NPR’s All Things Considered, Zoe Kazan discussed her grandfather’s film:

“I was so surprised by it because it adapts only, like, the last fourth of the book, basically. And it’s a pretty loose adaptation at that. Most of the characters that I found most compelling weren’t in it at all. You know, there’s, like, a kind of theory of creativity that all artists are making self-portraits at all times. And I think Steinbeck was definitely making some kind of self-portrait in writing this book, and I think when I see my grandpa’s film, I see so much of him.”

Source: Polygon